f  r 


UM 


— ^    ^  ^.   . 


"^-^^^      i! 


41 J 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


A  T  H  E  T  I  S  M  ; 


P  A  T  H  E  T  I  S  M  ; 


WITH 


PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS, 


Demonstrating  the  Falsity  of  the  hitherto  prevalent  assumptions  in 
regard  to  what  lias  heen  called 


5J 

> 


"MESMERISM"  AND  « NEUROLOGY 

And  illustrating  those  Laws  which  induce 

SOMNAMBULISM,   SECOND   SIGHT,   SLEEP,   DREAMING, 
TRANCE,  km  CLAIRVOYANCE, 

With  numerous  Facts  tending  to  show  the  Pathology  of 
MONOMANIA,    INSANITY,    V/ITGHCRAFT, 

AND   VARIOUS   OTHEK 

MENTAL  OR  NERVOUS  PHENOMENA, 


BY  LA  ROY  SUNDERLAND. 


"  There  cannot  be  a  sounder  maxim  of  reasoning,  than  that  which 
points 'out  to  us  the  error  of  attributing  fne  phenomena  that  occur  to 
remote  and  extraordinary  causes,  when  they  may,  with  equal  propriety, 
be  referred  to  causes  which  obviously  exist,  and  the  results  of  whicn  we 
daily  observe." 


NEW-YORK : 

PUBLISHED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR  BY  P.  P.  GOOD,  AT  THE 
"MAGNET"  OFFICE,  138  FULTON  STREET, 

AND  BY  THE  BOOKSELLERS  GENERALLY  THROUGHOUT  THE  COUNTRY. 

1843. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843,  by  La  Roy 
Sunderland,  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern 
District  of  the  State  of  New-York. 


J.  Douglas,  Printer,  34  Ann  Street, 


I  ^j 


V- 


PREFACE, 

It  is  now  generally  admitted,  that  some  knowledge 
of  Pathetism  prevailed  in  Egypt,  more  than  three 
thousand  years  ago.  The  celebrated  Anthony  Piuche, 
in  his  account  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  copies  from 
Montfaucon  a  complex  figure,  which  has  heen  under- 
stood to  represent  the  Eg^fptian  process  of  pathetis- 
ing.  A  patient  is  stretched  upon  a  couch,  while  a 
large  Anubis  is  painted  in  the  act  of  making  the  passes 
over  him,  with  one  hand  raised  above  his  head,  and 
the  other  placed  upon  his  breast.* 

It  is  said,  that  the  priests  of  Chaldea  practised  pa- 
thetism as  a  medicinal  agent,  many  years  before  the 
Christian  era.  Celsus,  a  philosopher  of  the  first  cen- 
tury after  Christ,  speaks  of  a  physician,  who  soothed 
the  ravings  of  the  insane  by  manipulations  j  and  he 
adds,  that  his  manual  operations,  when  continued  for 
some  time,  produced  a  degree  of  sleep  or  lethargy. 

Various  authors,  from  the  earliest  ages,  have  refer- 
red to  cases  of  disease  which  have  been  cured  by  si- 
milar  means ;  and  almost  every  sect  of  enthusiasts 
has  had  its  records  of  cures  performed,  not,  indeed, 
by  miracle,  but  in  some  instances,  it  may  have  been, 
by  the  touch  or  friction  of  the  human  hand ;  as  it  is 
well  known  that  similar  means  were  recommended  for 

*  Did.  des  Sc.  Med,     This  picture  is  copied  into  "Fellow's  Ex- 
position of  the  Mysteries  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,"  p.  304» 
1* 


=*'^crf?/r;:»o/i 


vi  PREFACE.' 

the  cure  of  certain  diseases,  long  before  the  days  of 
Mesmer. 

In  no  other  country  where  this  agency  has  become 
known,  has  its  therapeutic  benefits  been  so  little 
sought  after,  or  so  poorly  appreciated,  as  in  our  own. 
This  may  be  accounted  for,  in  part,  by  the  manner  in 
which  this  subject  has  been  exhibited,  from  time  to 
time,  in  different  places.  Where  people  have  to  de- 
pend upon  public  exhibitions,  and  know  nothing  more 
of  its  use  than  what  they  see  in  experiments  made  for 
mercenary  purposes,  we  are  not  to  expect  them  ta 
place  a  very  high  estimate  upon  any  of  its  alleged 
practical  beneSts. 

It  is  believed,  however,  that  a  large  number  of  the 
most  intelligent  of  the  learned  professions  in  this  coun- 
try, are  convinced  of  the  truth  of  pathetism ;  and  not 
a  few  of  these  classes  have  seen  and  tested  the  valu- 
able benefits  to  be  anticipated  from  its  use,  in  the  cure 
of  disease. 

Did  the  limits  of  this  work  permit,  we  should  gra- 
tify our  readers  w^ith  some  accounts  of  the  present 
state  of  pathetism  in  France,  Russia,  Germany,  and 
Prussia,  countries  where  its  practice  has  long  been 
patronised  by  the  learned,  and  especially  by  the  me- 
dical profession.  The  government  of  Prussia,  in  1817, 
attempted  to  guard  its  practice  by  legislative  enact- 
ments, prohibiting  any  but  regularly  organised  physi- 
cians from  its  use,  and  requiring  them,  when  they  did 
so,  to  report  their  proceedings,  quarterly,  to  the  au- 
thorities of  the  state.  A  societ}^  of  Paris,  from  1814 
to  1820,  published  two  periodicals,  devoted  entirely  to 
the  narration  of  facts,  and  the  diffusion  of  intelligence 
connected  with  this  subject.     In  Prussia  and  some 


PREFACE.  VlJt 

Other  countries,  hospitals  have  been  established  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  treating  the  sick  by  the  use  of  pa- 
thetism.  And  a  decree  of  the  Medical  College  of 
Denmark,  passed  in  1815,  and  another  in  1817,  im- 
posed upon  physicians  the  duty  of  reporting  the  re- 
sults of  their  pathetetic  practice.  But  we  have  not 
the  space  necessary  for  any  considerable  proportion 
of  the  testimony  which  might  be  quoted,  showing  the 
estimate  placed  upon  it  by  the  learned  in  other  coun- 
tries, as  a  medicinal  agent.  And  to  deny  it,  as  obser- 
ved by  Dr.  Marc,  before  the  Paris  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, (in  1825,)  "  to  deny  it,  would  be  to  suppose  that 
men  of  the  preatest  merit,  two  learned  bodies  of  the 
first  resnectabilitVi  and  o-overnments  known  to  have 
surrounded  themselves  v/ith  the  best  physicians,  must 
have,  in  various  places,  and  at  various  periods  of  time, 
fallen  dupes  of  miserable  jugglers,  and  propagated, 
favored,  and  executed,  labors  merely  chimerical.* 

In  our  own  country,  nothing,  probably,  has  done 
more  to  bring  this  subject  into  disrepute,  than  the 
manner  in  v/hich  it  has  been  treated  by  its  professed 
friends.  Public  attention  was  first  called  to  it  under 
a  most  disagreeable  name,  and  the  many  silly  stories- 
put  in  circulation  about  its  wonders,  could  but  arouse 
prejudice,  and  unfit  the  mind  to  give  it  a  candid  exa- 
mination. 

Though  it  Vv'ill  be  seen  that  the  author  of  the  present 
volume  claims  originality  for  the  theory  advocated  in 
the  following  pages,  as  well  as  some  of  the  processes 
of  operating,  yet  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  no  new 
agency  is  assumed,  by  whatever  names  this  influence 
may  have  been  known  in  previous  ages  of  the  world. 

*  Progi-ess  of  Animal  Magnetism.  By  Dr.  C.  Poyen,  Boston, 
1837,  pp.  19—22. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

The  autlior's  iiuincrous  cerebral  experiment^,  have 
been  conducted  with  the  special  design  of  ascertain- 
iu2  more  than  seemed  to  have  been  kno^^'^l  heretofore 
of  the  functions  of  animal  life.  And  the  folloAving 
pages  contain  the  results  of  investigations  connected 
with  nervous  difficulties,  which  have  been  continued 
for  a  number  of  years.  Upon  mature  consideration,  it 
was  believed  preferable  that  the  results  of  the  author's 
observations  should  be  given,  rather  than  the  details 
of  numerous  experiments  ;  as  volumes  might  easily  be 
filled  with  the  latter,  without  affording  any  real  benefit 
to  those  for  whom  this  work  is  designed.  His  oppor- 
tunities for  observing  those  classes  of  mental  pheno- 
mena, supposed  to  be  of  the  utmost  importance  in 
forming  right  conclusions  as  to  the  lavvs  of  mind,  have 
been  ample  \  and  the  experiments  in  Phrenopathy  hav- 
ing now  been  repeated  by  a  large  number  of  operators, 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  no  room  seems  left  to 
doubt  as  to  what  some  of  those  laws  must  be  which 
govern  the  vital,  organic,  and  mental  functions  of  the 
human  system. 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  how  great  the  disappointment 
of  many  will  be,  on  finding  that  the  author,  after  de- 
voting so  long  a  time  to  the  investigation  of  this  sub- 
ject, should  reject  the  hitherto  prevalent  assumptions 
in  relation  to  vrhat  has  been  called  the  magnetic  or 
nervous  fluid.  But  that  these  assumptions  have  not 
been  rejected  without  som.c  good  reasons,  the  follow- 
ing pages  will  show.  Nor  can  the  author  entertain 
any  doubt,  that  if  previous  writers  had  taken  up  the 
subject  as  he  has  done,  they  would  have  arrived  at 
similar  results.  Instead  of  attempting  to  tesi  these  ns- 
vumptions,  it  has  been  everv  where  taken  for  erantcd 


PREFACE.  IX 


that  a  fluid  was  eliminated  from  the  operator,  into  the 
system  of  the  patient  j  and  the  various  phenomena 
have  been  explained  accordingly.  Indeed,  the  author 
of  what  has  been  called  "Neurology,"  has  frankly  told 
us,  that  he  formed  his  theory  first,  and  then  commen- 
ced his  experiments  in  proof  of  it !  And  in  the  same 
way  the  notion  has  so  generally  obtained,  that  the 
agency  treated  of  in  this  work  was  really  a  magnetic 
or  nervous  fluid ;  and  one  generation  has  believed  it 
after  another,  because  the  necessary  pains  have  never 
been  taken  to  arrive  at  the  truth  on  this  subject. 


Mw'York,  March  1,  1843, 


contents: 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pages 
Explanation  of  Terms.  1 — 4 

CHAPTER  n. 

Human  Life. 

Life  is  an  element.  Its  power  over  inalter.  Its  control 
ever  the  imponderable  fluids,  magnetism,  electricit}^  and  heat. 
Life  is  not  electricity — these  forces  do  not  amount  to  what  we 
know  of  life.  They  do  not  modify  or  control  life,  as  they 
would  Vv-ere  life  nothing  but  electricity.  The  nerves  are  non- 
ductors  of  electricity.  Life  has  laws  peculiar  to  itself.  It  has 
motion,  moisture — it  is  affected  by  mere  sound.  Life  may,  as 
it  were,  be  shaken  out  of  the  system.  It  has  the  sense  of 
feeling.  The  nerves,  themselves,  are  destitute  of  feeling,  ex- 
cept upon  the  surface.  Hence,  if  electricity  v;ere  life,  every 
part,  and  especially  the  nerves,  would  be  alike  sensitive  to 
pain  from  contact  with  any  disturbing  body,  5 — 15 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Susceptibility. 

Peculiar  to  animal  life.  Effects  cf  m.edicine.  Differences 
in  the  effects  of  the  same  medicine  on  the  same  persons.  Idio- 
syncrasy. Emotions  of  pleasure  or  pain.  What  is  the  quality 
of  the  system  operated  on  in  producing  pain  ?  How  is  conta- 
gion or  infection  received?  Reciprocal  influences  between 
the  mJnd  and  one's  own  susceptibility.  "What  is  the  mind  ? 
How  is  this  question  answered  ?    The  mind  is  dependent  upon 


XII  CONTENTS. 

Pages 
the  developments  of  this  ?i;sccptibilily.  Where  is  the  mind  of 
the  foetus  ?  It  sympathises  with  the  body.  Sexual  diirorcnce. 
Temperaments.  Diet.  The  health.  The  power  of  thought 
depends  upon  the  state  of  tlic  nervous  system.  Ejects  of  the 
atmosphere.  Influence  of  the  mind  over  the  susceplihility. 
The  voice.  Effects  of  the  mental  apprehensions  on  the  sus- 
ceptibility. Adaptation  of  the  di/Tercnt  susceptibilities  to  the 
general  purposes  of  life.  Rules  for  judging  of  this  susceptibi- 
lity.    Temperament.    Phrenclogical  developments.  16 — 36 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SympaVn  y — Anlipaih  y. 

These  states  do  not  depend  upon  the  judgment,  but  upon  a 
peculiarity  in  the  physical  nature  of  each  person.  The  corre- 
spondence of  the  different  parts  of  the  body,  and  tlie  general 
sympatiiy  of  the  whole  with  the  mind.  Syropathies  peculiar  to 
different  parts  of  the  system,  depending  on  the  relation  which 
one  part  sustains  to  another.  Physical  s^Tnpathy  does  not,  ne- 
cessaril)',  depend  upon  continuity  of  surface,  or  the  contiguity 
of  the  parts  affected.  Reflex  nervous  action.  JS"o  sensation 
independent  of  the  brain,  or  medulla  oblongata — but  sympa- 
thies do  exist  independent  of  this  organ.  Anatomy  and  func- 
tions of  the  ganglia.  Two  separate  living  bodies  are  some- 
times affected  by  the  same  s^'mpaihetic  laws.  The  same  laws 
shown  to  extend  to  animals.  Two  persons  far  apart,  di-eam- 
ing  at  the  same  time  precisely  the  same  dream.  These  laws 
of  sympathy  are  resolvable  into  what  we  know  to  be  the  laws 
of  mind ;  and  its  influence  may  be  extended  from  one  person 
to  another.  Case  of  the  children  at  the  poor-house  in  Haer- 
lem.  Strange  occurrences  in  Kentucky  in  1801,  and  in  Scot- 
land, England,  and  Germany.  Catalepsy  under  religious  ex- 
citement, precisely  like  that  produced  by  pathetism.  37—57 

CHAPTER  V.       / 

Relaiion. 
Relation  is  the  connection  established  between  two  things. 


CONTENTS.  Xlil 

Pases 


'a^ 


Chemical  effects  depend  upon  the  qualities  of  two  different  bo- 
dies brought  together.  The  relation  which  produces  positive 
results,  depends  upon  certain  contrarieties  in  two  bodies 
brought  together.  This  law  is  universal.  Nature  works  bv 
contrarieties.  Two  things  precisely  alike  in  quality,  produce 
negative  results.  All  the  effects  of  pathetism  depend  upon  this 
relation,  established  between  the  patient,  the  operator,  or  the 
process.  This  relation  is  increased  by  habit,  and  sometimes 
it  acquires  supreme  control  over  ihe  mind  of  the  subject. 
Sometimes  it  depends  wholly  upon  the  mental  apprehensions 
of  the  patient, — and  the  mind  transfers  it  from  one  object  to 
another.  Persons  have  been  killed  by  this  power.  It  ex- 
plains the  phenomena  produced  by  Mesmer,  which  have  never 
been  reasonably  accounted  for  to  this  day,  and  shows  how 
sleep  is  induced  by  a  mere  process,  adopted  for  this  purpose.  58 — 67 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Pathetism. 

What  pathetism  is.  No  mora  mystery  in  this  agency  than 
in  any  other.  Its  effects  upon  the  sense  of  touch,  the  sight, 
taste,  smell,  hearing.  Effects  upon  the  muscles,  the  nerves, 
the  organs  of  animal  life,  the  mental  organs,  consciousness, 
the  will.  Disposition  and  character  of  the  patient.  Effects  in 
the  cure  of  disease.  Anomalous  results,  by  pathetising,  by  the 
imponderable  fluids.  68 — 98 

CHAPTER  YH. 

Theory  of  Patheiism. 

What  is  the  nature  of  this  agency  ?  Is  it  a  universal  fluid  ? 
These  results  are  not  the  necessary  effects  of  magnetism  or 
electricity.  The  magnetic  forces  reclprccally  affect  each  other 
— not  so  with  the  operator  and  his  subject.  The  results  pro- 
dueed  by  pathetism  are  radically  different  from  any  induced  by 
the  mere  electrical  forces.  Effects  of  metals  applied  to  the 
body.  Perkins's  tractors.  Effects  of  pathetism  on  animals. 
The  nen'es  are  non-conductors  of  electricity.    Is  it  a  neryous 

2 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

Pages 
iluid?  How  can  this  ho,  when  sleep  is  induced  without  any 
pliysical  couUet  or  mental  cx'jrtion  of  the  operator  ?  Effects 
produced  on  idiots  and  infants.  Discrepancies  in  the  results 
prove  that  it  is  not  a  fluid.  Operators  have  been  deceived  by 
what  they  supposed  to  be  the  effects  of  the  will  upon  patients. 
The  immediate  agency  for  affecting  the  mind,  must  be  the 
same  in  all  cases.  99 — 116 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

Pathetising. 

Have  all  persons  this  power  ?  The  hand — passes — the  ope- 
rator. His  health,  temperament,  age,  mental  character,  good 
motives,  skill.  Balance  of  power.  The  patient.  Tempera- 
ments. Idiosyncrasy.  Quiet.  Sleep.  Time  and  place  for 
operating.     Process  of  pathetising.     Cautions.  117 — 127 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Phrenopafhy. 

Discoveries  of  Dr.  Gall.  Phrenology.  The  relation  of  tlie 
encephalon  to  the  body.  Acephalous  foetiises.  Numerous 
phenomena  explained.  Functions  of  the  ganglia.  Hemis- 
pheres. Decussation.  Sections  of  the  encephalon.  Cerebel- 
lum. Base  of  the  brain.  Coronal  region.  Frontal  region. 
Occipital  region.  Cerebral  excitement  by  galvanism.  Origin 
of  phrenopathy.  Theory  of  phrenopathy.  Mental  organs. 
Experiments.  128 — 161 

CHAPTER  X. 

Sleep  ayid  Dreaming. 

The  relation  of  sleep  to  wakefulness.  The  will  in  a  state 
of  sleep.  The  external  senses.  Dreaming.  Voluntary  sleep. 
Continued  wakefulness,  E.xcessiTe  sleep.  Means  of  inducing 
natural  sleep.  162 — 168 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CH.AJPTER  Xr. 

Somniumj  Trance,  Somnambulisvi. 

Pages 
Similarity  "between  these  states.  Case  of  a  somnambulist  at 
East  Bloomfield,  X.Y.  Case  of  a  lady  in  the  state  of  Maine. 
Numerous  other  cases  stated.  An  account  given  by  a  som- 
nambulist of  himself.  Case  of  Eev.  W.  Tennant.  Conclu- 
sions to  be  drawn  from  these  facts.  169 — 190 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Second  Sight,  Trampcsiiicn  of  the  Seiises,  Doubh  Consciomness, 
Presentiments, ,  Prophetic  Breams,  Witchcraft. 

Cases  of  second  sight  stated.  Transposition  of  the  external 
senses,  tasting,  smelling,  hearing,  &c.  to  the  pit  of  the  sto- 
mach. Living  in  two  states,  altei-nately.  Presentiments, 
Prophetic  Dreams,  Witchcraft.  191 — 210 

CHAPTER  Xni. 

Clairvoyance. 

Objectionable  manner  in  which  this  subject  has  been  pre- 
sented. Human  knowledge.  The  question  stated.  Sense  of 
perception  without  the  external  organs.  Instinct.  What  is 
clairvayance?  Manner  of  inducing  this  phenomenon.  Speci- 
mens of  sympathetic  perception.  Cases  of  independent  clair- 
Toyance.  211—230 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Conclusuyn. 

The  reality  of  this  agency.  Its  nature.  How  operators 
have  been  deceived.  What  is  the  medium  of  this  agency? 
Impossibility  of  transmitting  a  Jluid  of  any  kind,  in  the  man- 
ner hitherto  supposed.  Vibratory  medium.  Mental  apprehen- 
sions.    Intrinsic  importance  of  the  subject.     Its  application  to 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

Pages 
the  purposes  of  education,  and  the  different  relations  of  life. 
A  well-balanced  head.    What  should  be  done  wh'in  the  organs 
are  unequally  balanced?     Parents  responsible  for  the  mental 
developments  of  their  children.     Conjugal  union.  231 — 240 

Appendix  241 


ERRATA. 


The  reader  is  requested  to  make  the  follo-^ring  corrections : 

Page  5,  4th  line  from  the  bottom,  for  "  be  composed,"  read  "  is 

composed." 

Page  35,  9th  line  from  the  top,  "  tvhich"  should  be  stricken  out. 
Page  36,  2d  line  from  the  bottom,  for  "pathist"  read  "paihc- 

tist." 

Page  42,  9th  and  15th  lines  from  the  bottom,  for  "niflex,"  read 

«  reflex." 

Page  44,  12th  line  from,  the  top,  for  "fact"  read  " facts j"   and 

5lh  line  from  the  bottom,  for  "sympathy"  read  "  sc7nni].athy." 
Page  81,  2d  line  from  the  top,  for  "it,"  read  "ihem." 
Page  108,  14th  line  from  the  bottom,  tor  "thus,"  read  "this." 
Page  109,  13th  line  from  the   bottom,  for   "magnetic,"  read 

*'  magnet.'' 

Page  lis,  2d  line  from  the  bottom,  for  "  these"  read  ''there.'* 
Page  128,  3d  line  from  the  top,  for  "Phrenis"  read  "  Phren." 
Page  133,  20th  line  from  the  top,  for  "'venesection,"  read  "  fj- 

visedion." 


P  A  T  H  E  T  I  S  M  . 


CHAPTER    I. 


EXPLANATION    OF   TER3rS. 


Most  persons,  at  all  familiar  with  the  subjects  we  propose 
to  investigate,  have  felt  the  want  of  suitable  terms,  by  which 
to  designate  them;  and  some  terms  we  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  using,  have  not  been  understood  by  all,  and  others,  have 
been  used  in  a  sense  widely  different  from  what  their  radical 
meaning  would  justify. — Somnambulism,  from  so7nnus  and 
amhulo,  properly  signifies  walking  in  a  state  of  sleep;  but  it  is 
often  incorrectly  used  to  signify  a  state  of  sleep,  merely,  and 
without  any  reference  to  its  peculiar  nature,  or  the  manner  in 
which  it  may  have  been  induced.  But,  as  there  is  manifestly 
a  marked  distinction  between  natural  sleep,  and  that  which  is 
artificially  produced,  we  w^antsome  term  suitable  for  designa- 
ting the  state  o{  induced  sleep,  to  distinguish  it  from  any  oth- 
er. And  so  of  the  process  for  producing  sleep.  The  term 
*'  Magnetising,"  has  been  used  for  this  purpose,  to  some  con- 
siderable extent,  but  all  have  been  agreed  that  this  was  not, 
by  any  means,  so  appropriate  as  could  be  desired.  The  truth 
is,  many  of  the  phenomena  common  to  a  state  of  induced 
sleep,  are  so  new  and  unaccountable,  that  language  does  not 
seem  to  have  afforded  the  necessary  terms  for  designating 
them  all ;  and  though  we  offer  the  following,  we  must  confess 
that  these  do  not,  by  any  means,  cover  the  entire  field,  nor, 
indeed,  are  some  of  them  quite  so  "classical"  as  we  could  de- 


2  PATHETlSjr. 

sire  ;  yet  they  will,  we  are  persuaded,  answer  a  good  purpose 
till  belter  terms  can  be  found.  It  is  well  known  that  our  term 
sympathy  is  from  two  Greek  words  which  signify  fellow-feel- 
ing, or  a  like  feeling  with  another,  as  sumpascho,  was  used 
amonff  the  Greeks  in  this  sense.  And  hence  the  use  which 
has  since  been  made,  in  medical  theories  of  the  (erm  palhosy 
which  signifies  not  only  disease,  but  passion,  feeling,  excite- 
ment,  emotion  ;  and  pathetikos,  susceptible  of  emotion,  that 
which  produces  emotion  or  feeling.  And,  that,  what  has  al- 
ready been  understood,  among  physicians  by  the  term  sympa- 
thy and  antipathy,  has  its  foundation  in  that  quality,  or 
nature  of  living  bodies  w^liich  is  the  ground-work,  if  we  may 
so  speak,  of  all  that  has  ever  really  been  produced  under  the 
name  of  Mesmerism,  there  can  be  no  doubt  at  all.  I  do  not 
say  that  the  phenomena  of  the  induced  sleep  for  instance,  is 
produced  by  nothing  more  nor  less,  than  what  has  been  known 
of  the  laws  of  sympathy,  but,  what  I  mean  is,  that  all  that 
has  been  understood  of  physical  or  mental  sympathy,  has 
originated,  or  been  founded  in  that  same  susceptibility,  upon 
which  we  operate  in  producing  any  mental  or  physical  ef- 
fects upon  the  sytem  of  another  by  manipulation.  No  term, 
therefore,  so  well  expresses  what  is  really  meant  when  speak- 
ing of  the  agency  by  which  one  person  operates  on  the  mental 
or  physical  organs,  of  another,  and  for  the  production  of  all 
those  phenomena  peculiar  to  the  induced  sleep,  as  one  which 
gives  the  idea,  of  sympathy,  and  a  state  of  susceptibility,  vjluch 
renders  this  influence  efficient  and  successful  in  producing 
the  desired  results  in  any  part  of  the  system  on  which  the  op- 
eration is  performed.  Every  physician  knows  that  disease  is 
often  communicated  by  sy7npathy  ;  and  it  will  appear  on  ex- 
amination, I  think,  that  this  same  agency  may  be  equally  ef- 
ficient in  its  cure.  But  tlic  results  brought  about  in  this  way 
amount  to  nothing  more  or  less,  than  what  has  so  long  been 
known  under  the  term  "animal  magnetism."  Hence  my  au- 
thority for  the  adoption  of  the  following  terms;  and  I  may 
add,  that  they  have  not,  heretofore,  been  appropriated  to  any 
other  ase,  and  hence  there  i?,  there  can  be,  no  reasonable  ob- 
jection to  their  application  in  the  sense  here  proposed. 


EXPLANATION    OF   TEK3IS.  3 

Patheiisfn. — I  use  this  term  to  signify,  not  only  the  agency 
by  which  one  person  by  manipulation,  is  enabled  to  produce 
emotion,  feeling,  passion,  or  any  physical  or  mental  effects,  in 
the  system  of  another,  but  also  that  susceptibility  of  emo??oru 
or  feelins;,  of  any  kind,  from  manipulation,  in  the  subject  op- 
erated upon,  by  the  use  of  which  these  effects  are  produced;  > 
as  also  the  laics  by  which  this  agency  is  governed.  I  mean 
it  as  a  substitute  for  the  terms  heretofore  in  use,  in  connection 
with  this  subject,  and  I  respectfully  submit  it  to  all  concerned, 
whether  this  be  not  a  far  better  term  for  the  thing  signified^ 
than  either  Magnetism  or  Mesmerism.  The  former  of  these 
has,  for  centuries,  been  appropriated,  and  which,  when  used, 
expresses  more  than  is  necessarily  included  in  its  meaning, 
when  applied  to  the  human  body.  The  term  Galvanism 
would  be  far  more  appropriate,  than  that  of  Mesmerism,  but, 
I  think  it  best  to  use  one  which  answers  my  purpose,  much 
better,  and  to  which  there  can  be  no  serious  objections. 

Pathetise. — The  act  of  manipulating  the  human  body,  for 
the  purpose  of  inducing  sleep,  the  relief  of  pain  or  the  cure  of 
disease.  The  act  of  applying  the  fingers  to  different  parts  of 
the  head,  or  the  body,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting,  or  control- 
ling the  mental  organs. 

Somnium. — This  term  was  first  used,  I  believe,  by  Dr. 
Mitchell,  of  New  York,  to  designate  what  has  been  called  by 
some  sleep-waking,  that  is,  a  state  in  which  persons,  in  a  pe- 
culiar sleep,  perform  acts  of  which  they  are,  at  the  time  or 
afterwards,  wholly  unconscious.  The  term  is  needed  to  des- 
ignate the  state  of  spontaneous  sleep,  merely  in  distinction, 
from  that  state  Vv^hich  is  accompanied  with  walking,  and  also 
from  the  other  states  described  below. 

Somnist. — One  who  spontaneously  falls  into  a  state  of  som- 
nium, or  sleep-waking. 

Somnipathy. — The  induced  sleep,  brought  on  by  the  process 
of  pathetising. 

Somnipathist. — One  in  a  state  of  sleep,  induced  by  pathe- 
tism. 

Somnnilor/uist. — One  who  is  made  to  talk,  in  a  state  of 
somnipathy, 


4  I'ATIIETISM. 

Phrcnopathy. — The  developement  of  the  mental  functions 
by  pathclism.  The  theory  which  teaches  the  susceptibilities 
and  influences  of  the  human  brain;  the  method  of  controling 
the  different  cerebral  organs,  and  the  results  produced  on  the 
7nind,  by  manipulating  different  parts  of  the  body.  Upon  the 
discovery  of  the  susceptibility  of  the  separate  cerebral  organs, 
to  the  control  of  pathetisra,  for  the  want  of  a  better  term? 
these  experiments  were  reported  under  the  terms,  "  Phreno- 
Magnetism,"  "  Cerebration,"  kc.  But  as,  from  the  first,  I 
have  controlled  the  mental  organs,  not  merely  by  applications 
directly  over  them,  but  also  by  manipulating  different  portions 
of  the  face,  necii,  limbs,  trunk,  and  indeed  the  teeth,  fingers 
and  toes  of  the  human  system,  I  think  the  above  term  more 
appropriate.  Whatever  impression,  therefore,  is  made  upon 
the  mind,  by  applying  this  agency  to  any  part  of  the  body  comes 
within  the  sense,  in  which  it  is  used  in  this  work. 

Clairvoyance. — Simply  clear-sight ;  but  it  has  come  into 
use  to  signify,  sight  without  the  eye. 

Second-sight. — This  term  as  is  well  known,  is  used  to  sig- 
nify a  sight  of  distant  objects;  or  what  would  be  called  a  su- 
pernatural perception  of  persons,  or  things  at  a  distance.  The 
terms,  super  sentient,  and  somniscience  are  used,  also,  in  the 
same  sense. 


CHAPTER    II 


HLOIAN   LIFE. 


As  our  enquiries  relate  to  the  nature  of  living  bodies,  it  is 
plain,  that  what  we  want  to  know,  is  most  directly  concerned 
with  human  life,  and  the  laws  by  which  it  affects  and  con- 
trols matter.  When  it  is  said,  that  we  never  can  know  any- 
thinij  with  regard  to  the  essential  nature  of  life,  it  is  affirmins: 
no  more  than  we  are  forced  to  admit  of  matter  itself.  For, 
who  has  ever  been  able  to  tell  what  matter  is  ?  Some  of  the 
laws  by  which  it  is  governed  we  know,  but  who  has  been 
able  to  demonstrate  whether  matter  be  composed  of  one  or 
more  elements  ?  Nor  are  our  enquiries  with  regard  to  life, 
really,  any  more  difficult ;  for  over  the  essential  nature  of  both 
life  and  matter,  there  hangs  the  same  impenetrable  shade  of 
mystery,  and  whether  we  shall  ever  be  able  to  advance  be- 
yond the  knowledge  of  our  predecessors  or  not,  onthese  ques- 
tions, remains  to  be  seen. 

If  we  merely  use  the  term  life,  as  expressive  of  a  fact,  like 
th€  term  attraction  or  repulsion,  it  may  be  as  easily  defined 
as  any  known  property  of  matter.  The  following  are  some 
of  the  reasons  which  incline  me  to  the  opinion,  that  life  is  not 
the  result  of  organization,  but  that  it  is,  itself,  a  distinct  e/e- 
merit,  and  governed  by  laws  of  its  own. 

1.     Its  power  over  the  laws  of   matter. 

The  fluids  of  which  the  embryo  is  formed  must  be  endowed 
with  life,  because,  from  their  union,  or  by  one,  when  in  contact, 
or  sufficiently  influenced  by  the  othex,  it  is  certain,  a  living 
substance,  or  being  is  produced,  which  partakes  of  the  qualities 
ot  its  parents.  If  it  be  assumed  that  this  fluid  be  composed 
of  particles,  in  an  organized  form,  we  might  answer,  that  life 
gave  them  this  form,  and  hence  they  must  be  the  results  and 
not  the  cause  of  life. 

Al 


6  TATHETISX. 

From  the  scripture  account  it  is  plain,  that  tlic  formation 
of  the  human  hody  preceded  the  gift  of  life.  After  man  was 
formed  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  we  are  told,  {Gen.  2:  7,) 
God  "  hreathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  lives,  and  man 
became  a  living  soul."  And  some  have  supposed  that  the 
lan'i-ua'Te  of  Moses,  (Lev.  17:  11),  is  to  be  understood  as  af- 
firming  that  the  blood  is  alhx,  and  that  life  is  deposited  in 
this  fluid.  But,  the  meaning  is  simply,  that  the  life  depends 
upon  the  blood,  so  that  when  it  is  withdrawn,  life  ceases.  If 
this  be  not  his  meaning,  it  would  involve  the  absurd  notion, 
that  the  blood  is  the  only  part  of  the  system  which  is  alive, 
but  this  we  know  is  not  the  fact. 

We  admit,  that  without  the  constant  operations  of  the 
well-known  chemical  affinities,  life  could  not  exist  for  a  mo- 
ment ;  but  these  affinities  are  controlled  by  life,  and  hence  de- 
composition cannot  take  place;  and  the  system  is  thus  pre- 
served from  death  and  decay.  And  in  a  word,  we  may  say  that 
almost  every  function  of  living  bodies  is  performed  in  opposi- 
tion io  {he  all-pervading  law  of  gravitation.     The  fluids  as- 
cend against  this  law ;  and  so  of  the  sap  in  vegetables,  it  is 
forced  up  by  the  principle  of  vitality,  which  controls  matter, 
and  which,  therefore,  cannot  be  a  mere  result  of  its  organiza- 
tion.   For,  to  suppose  that  tliis  phenomenon,  is  the  result  mere- 
ly of  organization,  would  be  to  assume  that  matter  has  a  self- 
determining,  self-controling  power.     But  it  is  an  acknowl- 
edged law  of  matter,  that  by  itself,  it  is  absolutely  inert,  and 
any  power  it  may  manifest,  must  be  derived  ;  so  that  whatev- 
er changes  may  be  observed  in  its  different  states,  they  are 
produced  by  some  extrinsic  cause;  hence  the  conclusion  seems 
reasonable  that  life  is  an  element,  distinct  from  matter,  as 
much  so  as  light  or  caloric. 

This  power  of  animal  life  may  be  seen  also  in  its  uIoiiitT/ 
and  perpetuity,  if  we  may  so  speak.  It  remains  the  same  in 
whatever  clime,  or  color,  oi  state,  it  appears.  Since  the 
world  existed,  no  change  has  been  produced  in  this  element. 
It  is  the  same  in  the  human  body — it  is  the  same  in  the  va- 
rious forms  of  beasts,  birds  and  reptiles.  True,  some  of  llic 
particular  features  of  the  bodies  which  it  animates,  may 


HU.-MA2\    LIFE.  7 

change,  but  this  principle  remains  the  same,  and  from  the 
first,  it  has  possessed  the  power  of  perpetuating  itself,  un- 
changed, from  generation  to  generation  and  from  age  to  age. 
But  if  life  be  nothing  more  than  the  result  of  organization,  or 
mere  electricity,  it  could  not  be  shown  how  the  life  of  one  ani- 
mal could  be  preserved  distinct  from  another;  or  how  man 
could  preserve  his  identity,  or  why  the  animals,  birds  and  in- 
sects do  not  so  mix  up  their  existences  as  to  become  lost  in 
one  general  amalgamation. 

2.  Life  possesses  the  power  of  contkclling  the  im- 
ponderable FLUIDS. 

We  say  life,  because  we  know,  that  the  same  bodies  when 
derpived  of  life,  are  immediately  operated  on  by  these  agen- 
cies, when,  on  the  living  system  they  produce  no  effect  at  all. 

The  power  of  the  human  body  to  resist  heat  is  well  known. 
Its  natural  temperature  in  this  country  is  not  far  from  96^ 
Fahr.  But  Dr.Fordyce,  formerly  physician  to  St.  Thomas' 
Hospital,  London,  went  into  a  room  heated  to  120°,  where  he 
remained  twenty  minutes,  and  afterwards,  into  a  room  heated 
to  130^  and  remained  fifteen  minutes  while  tJie  thermometer 
in  his  hand  rose  only  to  100^  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Dr.  Solan- 
der  and  Sir  Charles  Blagden,  remained  several  minutes  in  a 
room  heated  to  between  196°  and  211°,  the  temperature  at 
which  water  boils;  and  the  latter  of  the  above  gentlemen  re- 
mained eight  minutes  in  a  room  heated  to  260^  We  have 
accounts  of  a  young  female  at  Rochefoucault,  w^ho  was  in  the 
habit  of  staying  ten  and  twelve  minutes  at  a  time  in  an  oven 
heated  to  276°,  and  Tillet  and  Duhamel  inform  us  that  they 
bore  a  heat  of  290°  for  nearly  five  minutes. 

Chantry,  the  sculptor,  often  entered  his  furnace,  when 
heated  for  drying  his  mould,  to  320°,  and  his  workmen  did 
the  same  with  impunity  when  the  thermometer  was  up  to 
340°. 

A  dog  of  moderate  size  was  subjected  to  a  heat  of  220°. — 
The  only  signs  of  distress  was  holding  out  the  tongue,  and  in 
30  minutes  the  heat  was  236°.  On  being  taken  out,  the  bot- 
tom of  the  basket  was  found  wet  with  saliva.  By  the  same 
heat,  beef  steaks  were  cooked  in  thirty  minutes,  and  in  twenty, 
eggs  were  roasted  hard. 


8 


P.\TIIETISM. 


Mosl  of  my  readers,  have  probably,  lieard  of  Mons.  Chabert, 
the  "  fire  king,"  and  who,  as  is  stated  by  Dr.  Dunglingson, 
entered  an  oven  when  the  heat  was  raised  above  400 \ 

And  we  find  llie  living  body  possessed  also,  of  the  same 
power  to  generate  calori"c.  We  have  seen  that  its  natural 
temperature  is  about  96"^;  but  in  the  account  of  Capt.  Parry's 
voyage  to  the  arctic  seas,  we  are  told  that  his  crew  were  fre- 
quently exposed  to  a  temperature  oO'"  below  zero,  and  150  be- 
low that  of  their  own  bodies,  without  being  frozen  I 

We  may  be  told,  we  know,  that  heat  is  resisted  by  the  pro- 
cess of  evaporation.  But  what  carries  on  this  process?  Or, 
what  causes  the  living  body  to  evaporate  more  than  the  dead 
piece  of  flesh?  The  two  put  into  the  oven  together,  the  lat- 
ter is  cooked,  while  the  former  remains  in  the  same  tempera- 
ture unchanged. 

This  astonishing  power  is  attributable  to  nothing  but  the 
laws  of  animal  life. 

It  is  also  susceptible  of  the  clearest  demonstration,  that 
life  controls  the  forces  of  the  electric  fluid.  Most  persons  have 
noticed  the  sparks  which  are  often  emitted  from  the  hair  of  a 
cat,  when  it  is  rubbed  in  very  cold  weather;  and  a  similar 
phenomenon  is  also  seen,  on  taking  ofl^  flannel  drawers,  6cC. 
from  the  human  body. 

A  steel  needle,  plunged  into  a  nerve,  becomes  magnetic; 
and  on  being  withdrawn,  it  is  found  to  have  the  power  of  at- 
tracting light  substances- 

Mullcr  aflirms,  that  eflicient  galvanic  piles  may  be  formed 
from  organic  animal  substances,  without  the  use  of  metals. — 
AVienlioln  states  that  he  has  seen  sparks  obtained  by  bringing 
the  divided  ends  of  two  nerves  together.  The  electrical  prc- 
perties  of  the  torpedo,  and  a  species  of  eel,  are  also  well 
known.  The  gijmnotus,  for  instance,  it  w^ould  seem,  possesses 
a  complete  galvanic  battery.  Two  troughs  are  found  on  each 
side  of  the  spine,  separated  from  each  other  by  a  ligament  ex- 
tending the  whole  length  of  the  fish;  and  the  resemblance  of 
this  apparatus  to  the  galvanic  pile,  is  certainly  very  remarka- 
ble. 

A  ladv  whom  I  cured  of  a  most  severe  attack  of  neural- 


HOIAX    LIFE.  y 

gia,  by  Pathetism,  was  often  known  to  have  noises  in  the  front 
part  of  her  head,  which  sounded  exactly  like  the  discharge  of 
electrical  sparks.  And  I  know  another  lady,  who,  when 
indisposed  a  year  or  two  since,  gave  off  sparks  from  her  body 
whenever  she  was  approached  by  the  physician  who  attend- 
ed her.     She  was,  at  the  time,  partially  deranged. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Muller,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  has  demonstrated  the 
evolutions  of  electricity  from  the  human  body,  in  certain  con- 
ditions, by  a  series  of  original  experiments,  a  full  account  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  Magnet  for  February,  1S43.  As 
those  experiments  seem  to  have  been  more  decisive  than  any 
others  of  the  kind,  so  far  as  I  know,  and  as  the  conclusions 
derivable  from  them,  are  directly  in  favor  of  the  theory  now 
under  notice,  I  think  it  proper  to  give  Dr.  Muller's  account, 
in  his  own  words.     It  is  as  follows : 

"  Before  mentioning  more  particularly  the  conditions  to  be 
attended  to  for  a  successful  trial  of  the  experiment,  I  must 
state,  that  this  evolution  of  electricity  is  entirely  independent  of 
any  friction  between  the  clothes  and  skin.  That  so  far  from  this 
being  the  case,  not  the  smallest  appreciable  quantity  can  be 
Droduced  bv  any  friction  that  can  be  made  bv  the  clothes 
against  the  skin,  though  the  body  and  limbs  be  moved  slowly 
or  quickly  in  every  direction.  I  have,  also,  when  undressed 
and  insulated,  with  one  hand  on  the  electrometer,  rubbed  the 
surface  of  the  body  with  flannel  or  cotton  without  causing  the 
slightest  movement  of  the  gold  leaf. 

"The  conditions  spoken  of  are  as  follows:  First  a  proper 
dryness  of  the  air, — hence  a  situation  in  front  of  a  good  fire  is 
preferable.  As  a  very  cold  air  is  generally  very  dry,  also,  the 
experiment  has  succeeded  at  an  open  window,  when  the  ther- 
mometer stood  at  3S^;  but  as  here  the  air  soon  derived  mois- 
ture from  the  room  or  the  body,  the  electricity  of  the  latter 
was  so  soon  carried  off,  that  it  was  gone  before  I  could  touch 
the  electrometer  twice,  after  rising  from  the  chair.  But,  be- 
fore the  fire,  I  could  count  slowly  forty  or  fifty,  after  rising, 
before  I  had  parted  with  the  electricity  evolved  by  the  act  of 
rising.  It  was  for  want  of  attention  to  having  the  air  dry, 
and  to  my  overlooking  a  cause  of  moisture,  that  I  was,  at 
first,  in  doubt  whether  the  electricity  did  in  fact  arise  from 
the  body  without  the  aid  of  clothing.  I  had  succeeded  once 
or  twice,  perfectly,  I  thought,  in  affecting  the  electrometer, 
when  trying  the  experiment  before  the  fire,  undressed ;  but  I 
afterwards  failed  continually,  until  I  ascertained  that  by  wuik- 


10  PATHETISM. 

ing  a  ft'w  moments  in  tlie  cool  side  of  the  room,  and  then 
trying  the  experiment  before  the  fire — I  found  it  succeeded 
completely.  I  repeated  this  often,  and  always  with  the  same 
result.  The  cause  of  my  former  failure  w^as  owing  to  the  in- 
creased evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  skin,  produced  by 
the  heat  of  the  tire  ;  by  cooling  the  surface,  and  then  trying 
the  experiment  before  the  fire,  where  the  air  was  dry,  I  could 
a/Tect  the  electrometer  eacli  time  I  rose  and  sat,  until  the  heat 
had  produced  a  too  copious  exhalation  from  the  skin  to  allow 
the  electricity  to  remain  on  the  body.  For  the  same  reason, 
I  have  very  rarely  been  able  to  affect  the  electrometer  after 
returning  from  a  walk,  the  cutaneous  exhalation  carrying  off 
the  electric  fluid  as  fast  as  it  was  formed. — Secondly,  the  po- 
sition requisite.  This  is  as  follows :  place  the  electrometer 
over  the  mantel-piece  over  a  good  fire.  Take  a  common  sized 
chair,  of  such  a  height  that  the  feet  resting  on  the  floor,  the 
thighs  shall  be  horizontal.  Sit  towards  the  front  edge  of 
the  chair  and  lean  back,  so  as  to  have  the  trunk  of  the  body 
quite  relaxed;  then  rise  quickly,  and  touch  the  cover  of  the 
elec;rometer.  The  leaf  or  leaves  will  scarcely  fail  to  indicate 
the  presence  of  electricity.  If  the  first  trial  should  fail,  it  will 
be  owing  to  the  non-observance  of  some  of  the  above  condi- 
tions. A  second  or  third  attempt  mvst  succeed.  The  elec- 
trometer may  be  placed  on  a  table  before  the  fire;  the  experi- 
menter, seated  on  a  chair  near  it,  may  place  his  hand  on  the 
cover,  and  then,  after  leaning  back,  he  should  lean  a  little  for- 
wards and  rise  quickly,  or  but  partly  assume  the  erect  posi- 
tion. At  the  instant  of  rising,  and  very  often  at  that  of  sitting 
again,  the  elpotromefer  will  indicate  a  large  amount  of  elec- 
tricity. I  have  charged  with  as  much  as  could  be  detected 
by  the  instrument,  by  thus  alternately  rising  and  sitting.  By 
the  application  of  the  jar,  however,  the  leaf  has  never  moved 
more  than  half  an  inch,  while  by  keeping  the  finger  on  the 
electrometer  while  I  thus  rose  and  sat,  I  could  as  before  stat- 
ed, cause  a  continual  flight  of  the  leaf  to  and  fro  thro'  an  inch 
or  more.  I  have  hitherto  found  my  own  electricity  positive, 
and  I  have  a  suspicion  that  the  electricity  is  different  accord- 
ing as  I  rise  up  or  sit  down.  This  shall  be  decided  in  future. 
"It  is  indispensable,  that  the  chair  be  neither  too  high  nor 
low.  If  the  chair  with  which  I  succeed  when  in  its  proper 
position,  be  turned  on  its  side,  making  it  lower,  and  I  then 
sit  down  and  rise,  the  electrometer  is  not  affected.  Neither 
have  I  succeeded  by  rising  from  a  rocking  chair ;  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  friend  the  effect  of  sitting  upon  pillows  as  upon 
non-conductors,  was  tried ;  and  it  was  found  that,  insulation 
aside,  the  yielding  nature  of  the  articles  diminishes  the  indica- 
tion of  electricity.     If  the  chair  be  placed  upon  pillows,  and 


HUMAN    LIFE.  11 

also  if  the  feet  of  the  experimenter  sit  on  a  pillow  placed  in 
the  scat,  or  against  the  back  of  the  chair,  the  effects  on  the 
electrometer  are  irregular,  or  for  the  most  part  small.  Any 
position  in  short  which  does  not  call  into  action  the  proper 
muscles,  or  impedes  their  complete  action,  entirely  prevents 
or  lessens  the  developement  of  electricity.  Lowering  the 
bodv,  so  that  it  rests  upon  the  heels,  and  then  rising  and 
touching  the  instrument,  will  be  as  .void  of  influence  on  the 
leaf,  as  movement  from  any  other  position  than  the  one  de- 
scribed. Complete  insulation,  by  placing  the  legs  of  the 
chair  in  glass  tumblers,  and  the  feet  on  pillows,  seems  to  in- 
crease the  electricity." 

Now,  if  it  should  be  assumed  that  the  above  experiments 
^0  to  show,  that  life  itself  is  electricity,  I  reply  :  — 

(1.)  That  this  assumption  does  not  enable  us  to  explain  how 
it  is  that  this  (life)  electricity  is  evolved  merely  by  rising  up  from 
a  peculiar  position,  and  stretching  out  the  hand  in  the  way 
above  described.  If  muscular  action  evolves  life,  why  should 
it  not  be  much  more  evolved,  in  the  act  of  rising  up  from  a 
recumbent  posture;  or  in  the  act  of  lifting  some  heavy  body  ? 
But  in  such  acts,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  electricity  was 
evolved. 

(2.)  The  electrical,  galvanic,  or  magnetic  forces,  as  far  as 
known,  do  not  amount  to  what  we  do  know  of  the  vital  for- 
ces. No  effects  have  been  produced  by  the  action  of  electri- 
city upon  matter,  which  would  render  it  capable  of  resisling 
heat,  as  we  have  seen  the  living  body  has  the  power  of  doing. 

(3.)  Admitting  life  to  be  either  of  the  ox(iim^xy  imponderalle 
JIuids,  it  should  follow  that  it  would  be  modified,  controlled,  de- 
stroyed or  restored  by  their  application  to  the  human  system,  in 
innumerable  cases,  where  they  are  not  now  known  to  produce 
any  effects  whatever.  Friction  of  an  electric,  produces  electri- 
city ;  but  no  such  results  follow  the  friction  of  the  living  body. 
The  application  of  an  ordinary  magnet  produces  no  effects, 
though  it  be  ever  so  powerful,  except  in  a  few  isolated  cases, 
where  there  is  a  peculiar  state  of  susceptibility,  developed  by 
disease,  or  the  process  of  pathetising.  And  even,  when  per- 
sons are  susceptible  to  any  peculiar  influences  from  the  im- 
ponderable fluids,  it  is  found  that  their  effects  do  not  agree  in 
any  two  cases,  nor  scarcely  in  any  two  experiments,  at  differ- 


1'2  PATIIETISM. 

eh t  times,  upon  the  same  person  ;  facts  wliich  can  never  be 
accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  animal  life  is  nothing 
more  than  electricity.  And,  on  this  hypothesis,  how  can  it 
be  shown  that  in  certain  cases,  at  least,  we  should  not  be  able 
to  restore  life  by  a  galvanic  battery  ?  It  is  not  known  that 
death,  or  the  mere  cessation  of  life,  produces  any  change  of 
structure  in  any  pan  of  the  system;  and  in  cases  of  death  by 
fright  or  excessive  joy,  why  should  not  life  be  restored  by  an 
application  of  the  ordinary  electrical  forces  ? 

(4.)  The  forces  of  the  different  imponderable  fluids  may 
constitute  some  of  the  a,^enc/(?5  by  which  life per/o/vns  its/wnc- 
tions  ;  but  this  does  not  prove  that  these  agencies  constitute  life, 
any  more  than  the  pen  with  which  these  lines  are  written 
could  be  proved  to  be  the  mind  by  which  it  is  moved. 

(5.)  This  assumption  is  sufficiently  confuted  by  anatomy. 
Bischoff  has  proved,  that  the  nerves  are  among  the  worst  pos- 
sible conductors  of  electricity  or  galvanism;  from  which  it 
follows,  that  the  fluids  can  neither  be  life,  nor  the  sole  agent 
by  which  its  functions  are  carried  on.  This  fact  will  be 
made  to  appear  more  fully  in  the  chapter  on  Pathetism. 

"We  observe, 

3.     That  life  has  laws  of  its  own,  which,  though  they 

MAY    BE    similar    TO    THE  ELECTRICAL  FORCES,    YET    THEY    CAN- 
NOT  EE    IDENTIFIED    WITH    ANYTHING    BUT    LIFE    ITSELF. 

(1.)  All  animal  life  has  more  or  less  motion.  Butitisnot 
necesssarily  so  with  the  imponderable  fluids.  The  magnetic 
forces  may  exist  in  any  degree,  without  producing  motion  at 
all.  True,  we  can  detect  these  forces  only  by  their  effects 
on  matter,  as  they  may  appear  when  two  kinds  of  matter 
without  life,  are  brought  into  a  particular  relation  to  each 
other;  but  no  relation  between  different  qualities  of  any  inan- 
imate matter  has  ever  produced  animal  life. 

(2.)  Moisture  and  heat  are  often  necessary  conditions  of 
animal  life.  But  the  magnetic  forces  may  exist  where  neither 
moisture  nor  heat  can  be  delected. 

(3.)  It  has  never  been  proved  that  sound  has  any  in- 
fluence over  the  galvanic  forces.  But  we  know  that  mere 
sound  may  not  only  produce  all  the  passions  and  feelings  of 


HUMAN    LIFE.  13 

which  the  human  mind  is  known  to  be  susceptible,  but  it 
has,  in  some  cases,  produced  instant  death,  as  in  cases  of 
threats  or  fright,  as  will  be  fully  shown  in  the  succeeding- 
chapter. 

These  facts  illustrate  laws  peculiar  to  living  bodies,  and 
which  therefore,  cannot  be  affirmed  of  the  mere  electric  or 
magnetic  forces. 

(4.)  But  it  might  be  thought  that  these  results  are  pecu- 
liar, only  to  those  who  have  7ninds  or  reason  ;  and  that  it  is 
this  faculty  \vhich  is  operated  on  by  the  magnetic  forces,  and 
the  mind  reacts  on  these  forces,  and  thus  extinguishes  life. — 
This  comes  quite  near  to  what  is  called  reasoning  in  a  circle. 
That  the  mind  is  not  the  life  is  plain ;  and  we  further  admit, 
that  the  mind  may  affect  the  life,  but  how  this  is  done  is  the 
thing  to  be  proved.  It  has  never  been  proved  that  the  ordi- 
nary magnetic  forces  were  ever  controlled  by  mind,  merely, 
and  hence  it  is  not  sufficient  to  assume,  that  the  mind  des- 
troys life,  by  operating  on  these  forces. 

But  to  prove  that  life,  may,  as  it  were,  be  shaken  or  extin- 
guished out  of  the  system,  by  comparatively  slight  causes, 
when  the  mind  can  have  no  agency  in  the  result.  Dr.  R. 
Nelson,  of  this  city,  states  that  he  has  noticed,  that  per- 
sons hit  by  cannon  or  musket  balls,  after  the  balls  had 
spent  their  forces,  are  often  most  shockingly  mangled  and 
torn  to  pieces ;  but  yet,  they  live,  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time. 
But  Avhen  the  body  is  struck  by  the  ball  immediately  on  its 
discharge  from  the  cannon,  the  person  is  killed  instantly, 
though  the  system  may  scarcely  be  injured  at  all. 

(5.)  Another  law  peculiar  to  animal  life,  may  be  found  in 
the  sense  o^ feeling.  This  peculiar  sense  seems  to  have  been 
given  for  the  preservation  of  the  system  from  danger,  and  in- 
jury of  every  kind.  And  yet,  we  find  the  more  essential  any 
part  in  the  vital  economy  is,  the  more  insensible  it  is,  and  the 
less  susceptible  to  the  sense  of  feeling  from  mere  touch  or  vio- 
lence from  contact  with  any  other  substance.  Even  the  heart, 
the  centre  of  the  circulating  organs  which  attracts  and  pro- 
pels the  blood  throughout  the  entire  system,  does  not  seem  to 
possess,  itself,  any   feeling,  by  which  it  can  detect  the  touch 

B 


l-^  PATHETISM/ 

of  any  external  object,  and  tliis  same  insensibility  seems  ta 
pervade  all  those  organs  most  essential  to  life  and  health. — 
And  the  brain,  and  indeed,  the  entire  nervous  system,  may  be 
injured  to  any  extent,  without  any  sensation  of  pain  in  those 
organs.  The  brain  may,  and  has  been  entirely  destroyed, 
•without  destroying  life  at  the  same  time.  In  cases  of  difficult 
labor,  the  brain  of  the  fcEtus  has  been  let  out  of  the  cranium 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  delivery,  and  yet  the  infant 
lived  for  some  hours  after  birth.  Dr.  Nelson  before  referred  to, 
narrates  one  or  two  cases  of  this  kind,  which  occurred  in  his 
own  practice.  And  a  case  is  referred  to  in  Graham's  Sci- 
ence of  Human  Life,  where  the  fcetus  was  hoin  alive  without 
any  brain,  or  the  least  semblance  of  a  spinal  marrow.* 

Now,  how  does  it  come  to  pass,  if  the  galvanic  forces  con- 
stitute life,  and  these  forces  are  conducted  by  the  nervous  sys- 
tem, we  say  hoAV  does  it  come  to  pasS;,  that  the  nerves  have 
no  sensation  except  on  the  surface  of  the  system  ?  Why  have 
not  the  nerves,  or  the  electric  fluid  in  the  nerves,  as  much 
sensation  in  one  place  as  another  ?  How  is  it  that  the  optic 
nerve  is  so  insensible  to  everything  hnt  light  ?  How  is  it  that 
the  brain,  the  grand  organ  of  thought  and  the  centre  of  all 
feeling  and  sensation,  itself  has  no  feeling  at  all  I  Especially 
if  the  brain  be  a  real  galvanic  battery,  which  eliminates  the 
vital  energy  which /«ee/6-,  how  shall  we  account  for  it,  that  that 
important  organ  may  be  cut  and^  in  fact,  taken  out  of  the 
cranium,  without  giving  so  much  sense  of  pain  even  as  the 
mere  prick  of  a  pin  on  the  surface  of  the  hand  ?  Is  it  not  too 
plain  to  be  doubted,  that  if  electricity  constituted  animal  life, 
every  part  of  the  system  should  be  alike  sensitive  to  pain  from 
contact  with  any  disturbing  body  ?  Indeed,  we  should  sup- 
pose, that  in  those  portions  where  we  could  fmd  the  greatest 
amount  of  nervous  matter,  we  should  find  the  most  electricity, 
and  consequently,  the  highest  se7ise  of  feeling  from  touch. — 

*  It  is  said  that  brainless  foetuses  are  not  uncommon  ;  and  we  have 
the  description  of  a  case  by  Dr.  Mayer,  of  IJerlin,  where  one  was 
born  without  either  brain,  spinal  chord,  or  enciphalo-spinal  nerves.— 
There  was  one  nervous  twig  accompanyinfj  the  venal  artery,  and  aris- 
ing, apparently  from  the  venal  plexus.  Other  cases  have  been  known 
wiiere,  though  some  of  the  cerebral  organs  were  evolved,  yet  no  nerves 
could  be  discovered. 


HUMAN   LIFE.  15 

But,  on  examination  we  find  the  state  of  things  directly  the 
reverse  of  this.     The  nerves  themselves,  have  no  more  feel- 

• 

ing  than  dead  matter,  except  upon  the  surface  of  the  system, 
and  as  we  shall  see,  there  are  conditions  of  the  living  system 
in  which  the  nerves  of  sensation  are  deprived  of  this  function, 
a  phenomenon  which  can  satisfactorily  be  accounted  for,  only 
upon  the  supposition,  that  life  is  an  element,  governed  and 
perpetuated  by  laws  of  its  own.  If  it  be  objected  that  this 
element  has  never  been  seen,  we  answer,  neither  has  the  for- 
ces of  the  magnet  ever  been  seen.  And  yet,  Avho  doubts  of 
their  existence  ? 

In  the  succeeding  chapter,  some  of  the  laws  will  be  made 
to  appear,  by  which  living  bodies  are  affected,  and  by  which 
Those  results  are  induced,  which  we  class  under  the  terms  ex- 
plained in  the  preceding  pages. 


CHAPTER    III. 


SUSCEPTIBILITY. 


In  treating  on  the  susceptibilities  of  the  living  body,  we  en- 
ter upon  a  field,  which  has  not,  I  believe,  been  so  thorough- 
ly explored,  as  muny  other  questions  involved  in  the  subject 
of  human  physiology.  And  yet,  if  I  mistake  not,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  one  of  immense  importance,  as  it  is  connected 
with  everything,  which  relates  to  human  weal  or  wo.  There 
is  no  pain  or  pleasure,  no  feeling,  emotion,  or  passion  com- 
mon to  our  nature,  but  has  to  do  with  that  quality  of  the  liv- 
ing body  which  I  denominate  susceptibility.  And  in  a  word, 
all  the  results  produced  by  any  agency,  whatever  it  may  be, 
when  exerted  upon  the  mind  or  body,  depend  entirely,  upon 
this  quality  of  the  human  system. 

1.  This  susceptibility  is  peculiar  to  andial  life. 

No  agencies  are  known,  by  which  any  effects  are  produced, 
of  the  kind  now  under  consideration,  upon  a  dead  body. 
Hence,  it  appears  that  all  the  influence  ever  excited  upon  the 
human  system  by  pathetism,  depended  upon  this  peculiar 
yt^a/z^t/ of  the  system. 

1.  Medicine  produces  no  effects  except  hy  its  power  over 
this  susceptibility. 

But  why  should  not  the  stomach,  and  other  portions  of  the 
system,  immediately  after  death,  be  affected  by  medicine? 
Who  has  ever  been  able  to  answer  this  question  ?  Indeed, 
we  know,  that  while  life  remains,  in  certain  cases,  the  most 
powerful  drugs  in  the  materia  medica  produce  no  effect  at  all. 
A  case  is  on  record  of  a  man  being  engaged  in  alchemy,  who 
could  take  four  ounces  of  sweetened  and  sublimated  mercury, 
without  being  purged.  The  only  reason  that  can  be  assigned 
in  such  cases,  is  that  the  vital  forces  become  so  far  destroyed 
or  annihilated,  that  medicine  cannot  reach  them;  and  from 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  17 

vvhicli  it  follows  that  the  prmciple  or  susceptibility  on  which 
medicine  operates  in  any  case,  is  this  quality,  and  which  is 
peculiar  to  animal  life;  and  certainly,  the  various  theories  of 
medicine  are  just  as  much  responsible  for  their  failure,  as  path- 
etism,  when  this  agency  is  found  inadequate  to  produce  any 
desirable  change  in  the  health  of  the  system.  It  will  be  found 
on  enquiry,  that  the  beneficial  results  of  medicine,  in  any  giv- 
en case,  are  nearly  or  quite  as  uncertahi,  as  those  attending 
the  ordinary  process  of  pathetising  for  the  cure  of  disease. 

2.  The  effects  of  m.edicine  are  not  only  known  to  be  ex- 
tremely uncertain,  but  widely  different  in  different  persons^ 
and  the  eflects  vary  at  different  times  on  the.  same  system. 

This,  we  are  told,  depends  upon  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  pa- 
tient, or  that  peculiar  state  of  the  constitution  by  virtue  of 
which  one  feels  a  like  or  a  dislike,  or  an  indifference  towards 
any  given  object.  It  is  precisely  so  with  pathetism;  and  we 
can  no  more  account  for  these  different  dispositions  in  different 
individuals,  than  for  the  difference  m  the  effects  produced  by 
manipulating  the  human  system. 

3.  All  the  emotions  of  pleasure  or  pain  are  produced 
through  this  susceptibility. 

I  do  not,  now,  assume  to  tell,  in  what  peculiar  qualities  or 
combinations  of  matter,  this  susceptibility  consists;  but  I  af- 
firm what  every  one  knows,  when  I  say,  that  there  is  a  vast 
difference  in  the  degrees  to  which  different  persons  will  be  af- 
fected, agreeably  or  otherwise,  by  the  same  agency.  Sensa- 
tion has  been  considered  as  the  condition  of^self  consciousness, 
v,'hich  presupposes  nothing  more  than  life,  for  its  existence. 
But  we  have  seen  that  there  may  be  life,  where  there  is  no 
susceptibility;  and  this  shows  that  sensation  depends  on  a  pe- 
culiar condition  of  life,  which  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
the  susceptibility,  upon  which  w^e  operate  in  producing  plea- 
sure or  pain.  And  when  we  prcduce  any  kind  of  sensation 
in  the  mind  of  another  through  the  eye  or  ear,  or  by  a  blow 
upon  the  body,  there  is  really  just  as  much  mystery  in  the  im- 
mediate agency  by  which  an  impression  is  produced  upon  the 
mind,  in  this  case,  as  there  is  when  we  put  a  person  into  a 
state  of  sleep  by  merely  holding  the  hand  on  the  head.  All 
we  know  is,  that  certain  results  follow  certain  means  used. 


18  PATHETISM. 

4.  No  change  of  any  kind  is  hrouiiht  about  in  the  living 
body  without  operating  on  this  susceptibility. 

It  is  not  reached  through  any  one  organ  alone,  but  is  dif- 
fused throughout  the  entire  system.  Nor  is  it  reached  with 
equal  facility  by  the  same  means  in  different  persons.  One 
is  found  quite  difficult  to  be  affected  by  the  ordinary  course  of 
medical  treatment,  and  he  is  relieved  at  once  by  pathetising. 
The  strains  of  music  which  melt  and  move  the  soul  of  one, 
liave  no  effect  at  all  upon  another,  who  would  at  the  same 
lime  be  affected  to  tears,  at  the  sight  of  human  suffering. 

A  knowledge  of  this  quality  of  the  living  body  will  account 
for  the  diseases  produced  by  contagion  oi infection',  for,  whe- 
ther the  substance  producing  the  change,  be  received  into  the 
system,  through  the  slomach  or  lungs,  or  the  pores  of  the 
skin,  this  is  the  medium  through  which  the  change  is  made, 
whether  the  agents  be  material  substances,  or  those  only, 
which  produce  feeling,  emotion,  passion,  or  change  of  any 
kind  in  the  human  mind. 

2.  There  is  a  recipkocal  influence  between  this  sus- 
ceptibility AND  THE  HUMAN  MIND. 

I  use  the  term  mind  to  signify  an  intellectual,  iiilelligent 
7Jou-er,  which  is  not  predicable  of  mere  aninial  life.  Life  is 
not  intelligence.  .  But  that  self-determining  power  in  man,  de- 
nominated the  mind,  is  certainly  manifested  through  the  body, 
and  all  we  know  of  its  nature,  we  acquire  through  those  or- 
gans, upon  the  healthy  functions  of  which,  it  is  dependent, 
from  first  to  last,  for  the  integrity  of  its  deductions.  For,  to 
whatever  standard  we  appeal,  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
its  nature  and  powers,  we  do  so  in  the  exercise  of  the  cerebral 
functions,  and  whether  we  correctly  apprehend  what  is  admit- 
ted to  be  a  divine  revelation  on  this  question  or  not,  must  de- 
pend upon  the  healthy  state  of  those  organs,  through  which 
the  conclusions  of  the  mind  are  manifested. 

(1.)  The  dependence  of  mind  upon  the  developments  of 
this  susceptibility.  Where  is  the  mind  of  the  foetus  or  of  the 
child  just  born  ?  Where  is  the  mind  of  the  infant,  or  the  id- 
iot, fifty  years  old?  It  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  that  in  these 
cases,  there  are  no  manifestations  of  mind.    As  in  the  vege- 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  19 

table  kingdom,  those  leaves  which  appear  first,  and  are  near- 
est the  earth,  are  less  matured,  and  soonest  decay,  while  the 
flower  and  ripened  seed  require  time  for  their  full  develop- 
ment;  so  in  the  human  species:  in  infancy  we  find  little  or 
no  appearance  of  mind,  till,  by  age,  diet  and  exercise,  the  phy- 
sical organs  become  sufficiently  developed  for  its  various  man- 
ifestations. At  first,  its  faint  gleamings  are  perceived,  which 
correspond  w4th  the  infantile  proportions  of  the  body,  and  up 
through  childhood  and  youth,  its  powers  may  be  traced  in 
connection  with  the  grovvTth  and  health  of  the  cerebral  organs. 
When  the  body  has  reached  the  meridian  of  its  development, 
in  a  healthy  state,  the  mind  also,  is  seen  in  the  full  exercise 
of  its  powers,  and  from  this  period,  down  through  the  decrep- 
itude of  age,  it  sympathises  with  the  infirmities  of  the  body. 
To  notice  a  few  things  a  little  more  in  detail : 

Sexual  difference.  In  the  male,  the  bones  and  muscles  are 
stronger,  and  more  regular,  the  arterial  and  cerebral  systems 
are  more  developed;  the  lungs  are  stronger,  and  hence,  more 
compass  of  voice  and  respiration.  On  the  contrary,  women 
will  generally  be  found  inferior  in  the  bones  and  muscles,  with 
larger  venous  and  ganglionic  systems.  In  men,  the  coarser, 
rougher  qualities — in  women,  the  finer  and  more  delicate. — 
And  hence,  a  corresponding  psychological  difference.  Man  is 
disposed  for  labor,  courage,  liberty  and  power.  Woman,  for 
purity,  kindness  and  patience. 

The  temperaments.  As  there  are  as  many  temperaments, 
properly  speaking,  as  there  are  differences  in  the  qualities  of 
the  physical  systems  of  different  persons,  we  have  no  terms 
by  which  they  could  be  designated.  The  term  temperamcnty 
from  tempero,  to  mix  together,  has  been  used  to  signify  that 
peculiar  combination  of  the  materials  constituting  the  difTer- 
ence  in  the  susceptibilities  and  dispositions  of  difierent  indi- 
viduals. Hence,  we  say  that  in  a  person  of  sanguine  temper- 
ament, there  is  a  corresponding  development  of  hope  and  joy. 
In  the  nervous,  the  cerebral  portions  correspond;  in  the  bi- 
lious, hard  muscle,  large  firmness  and  energy ;  in  the  lym- 
phatic, deficiency  in  firmness  and  industry,  love  of  ease  and 
inactivity.     Diet  makes  a  difference.     It  is  well  known,  that 


20  PATHETISM. 

all  substances  taken  into  tlic  human  stomach,  which  produce 
over  excitement,  or  cause  any  derangement  in  the  nervous 
system,  invariably  affect  the  mental  powers  more  or  less. — 
Instance  the  effects  of  alchohol,  tobacco  and  opium.  More 
than  one-third  of  all  the  cases  of  insanitT/,  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe,  are  produced  by  the  use  of  intoxicating  li(iuors: 
and  in  China,  similar  results  follow  the  use  of  opium.  And 
will  any  one  assume,  that  insanity,  in  these  cases,  is  not  caus- 
ed by  the  influence  of  the_ physical  organs  over  the  mind? — 
Poisonous  food  frequently  causes  delirium.  Two  monks  ate 
water-hemlock.  Both  immediately  complained  of  thirst,  and 
plunged  into  the  water,  one  thinking  himself  a  goose,  and  the 
other  that  he  was  a  duck,  and  both  affirming,  that  they  could 
live  no  where  else  but  in  the  water.* 

And  who  does  not  know  the  weakening  effects  of  hunger 
upon  the  mind,  and  the  exhilaration  which  follows  a  full 
meal  ?  The  difference  between  a  flesh  and  a  vegetable  diet 
is  well  known.  Flesh  is  more  stimulating,  producing  a  bi- 
lious, active,  passionate,  and  sensual  disposition;  while  a  ve- 
getable diet  is  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  a  meek,  subdued, 
childlike  feeling,  as  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  accounts  we 
have  of  nations,  communities,  and  individuals  who  have  con- 
fined themselves  to  this  way  of  living. 

The  state  of  the  health.  The  power  of  thought  depends 
upon  the  state  of  the  nervous  system.  Every  one  knows  how 
difficult  it  is  to  put  forth  any  considerable  mental  effort  when 
the  stomach  or  any  of  the  vital  organs  are  much  diseased. — 
Severe  pain  in  the  head  distracts  the  thoughts,  and  fevers  fre- 
quently rage  to  such  a  degree,  that  mental  derangement,  and 
even  raving  madness  ensues.  A  slight  blow  upon  the  head, 
changes  entirely  the  activity  of  the  mind,  and  at  other  times, 
instant  death  is  the  result. 

The  want  of  sleep  enfeebles  the  mind,  and  when  wakeful- 
ness is  continued  too  long,  in  some  cases,  it  causes  mental  de- 
rangement. 

The  effeots  of  the  air,  the  new  moon  and  planets,  have  long 
been  known,  and  more  or  less  acknowledged,  by  all  classes  of 

*  Dr.  Raucli. 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  21 

people.  Indieed,  the  effects  of  climate  are  not  more  visible, 
scarcely,  upon  the  vegetable  or  animal  kingdoms,  than  upon 
the  minds  of  men.  Insanity  has  often  been  known  to  follow, 
what  is  called,  a  "stroke  of  the  sun;"  and  that  it  has  an  in- 
fluence on  animal  life  seems  now  lo  be  generally  admitted. 

M.  Arago,  in  his  account  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  the 
solar  eclipse  of  8th  July,  1842,  states,  that  he  had  often  heard 
accounts  of  birds  dying  from  the  mere  influence  of  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun;  but  could  scarcely  credit  the  statement,  as  they 
could  only  die  from  fear;  and  the  discharge  of  a  gun  ought  to 
frighten  them  more,  and  yet  it  is  certain  that  it  does  not  kill 
them,  unless  they  are  actually  hit.  One  of  M.  Arago's  friends 
made  the  following  experiment :  He  placed  five  linnets  in  a 
cage,  they  were  lively  and  active,  and  fed  up  to  the  moment 
of  the  eclipse  ;  when  the  eclipse  had  terminated  three  of  them 
were  dead. 

A  dog  was  kept  fasting  from  morning;  immediately  before 
the  eclipse  he  was  offered  food,  and  fell  on  it  greedily ;  but 
when  the  dusk  commenced  he  suddenly  ceased  eating. 

The  horned  cattle  in  the  fields  seemed  affected  with  a  kind 
of  vague  terror;  during  the  eclipse  they  lay  down  in  a  circle, 
their  heads  being  arranged  toward  the  circumference,  as  if  to 
face  a  common  danger. 

The  darkness  influenced  even  the  smaller  animals.  M. 
Froisse  observed  a  number  of  mice  which  w^ere  running  brisk- 
ly, become  suddenly  still  when  the  eclipse  began. 

The  notion  prevailed  among  the  ancients,  that  the  influence 
of  the  moon  had  a  tendency  to  produce  insanity,  and  hence 
this  disease  has  taken  the  nam^e  of  lunacy  from  luna  the  moon. 

The  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  known  to  be  unfavora- 
ble to  the  development  of  extraordinary  intellectual  powers. 
Too  great  a  degree  of  heat  relaxes  the  nervous  and  muscular- 
systems;  and  by  too  much  cold  they  are  contracted,  and  cor- 
responding effects  are  produced  upon  the  mind.  It  is  in  the 
temperate  zones  that  we  find  the  greatest  exhibitions  of  intel- 
lectual power.  It  is  here  that  we  find  it  luxuriating  in  the 
majesty  of  its  strength,  and  where,  in  the  exercise  of  its  attri- 
butes, it  explores  the  hidden  mysteries  of  nature,*soaring  ia 


2'2  PATHETISM. 

illiniiiablc  space,  Willi  ilie  stars  and  planetary  worlds,  or  com- 
inandinir  the  laws  which  control  the  red  winged  lightning  of 
heaven. 

(2.)  The  influence  of  the  mind  over  the  susceptibility. — 
The  effects  of  joy  are  well  known  under  this  emotion,  theres- 
j)iration  becomes  easy,  the  face  is  Hushed  with  color,  and  the 
entire  system  seems  animated  with  nev/  life.  Anger  has  been 
known  both  to  cure  and  protluce  disease.  This  emotion  is  no 
sooner  excited  in  the  mind,  than  its  influence  is  shown  in  the 
face,  and  throughout  the  muscular  system.  The  eye  is  seen 
to  change  quickly,  the  teeth  grate,  and  the  hand  is  clenched 
in  correspondence  with  this  stale  of  the  mind.  The  vascular 
system,  also,  partakes  of  the  general  excitement.  The  blood 
is  quickened  in  its  circulation,  and  hence  the  heat  of  the  body 
is  increased.  The  secretions  become  more  copious ;  and  in 
some  cases,  their  quality  is  perceptibly  changed.  Indeed, 
most  of  the  emotions  and  passions  of  the  human  mind,  are 
usually  shown  in  the  countenance,  and  excite  more  or  less  in- 
fluence over  tlie  nervous  system;  and  hence  the  origin  of  the 
various  theories  of  physiognomy  which  have  been  put  forth 
from  time  to  time. 

One  of  the  most  mysterious  agencies  in  nature  is  that  which 
is  communicated  from  the  mind  through  the  voice.  All  the 
emotions  of  the  heart  have  corresponding  tones  of  voice.  In 
joy  it  is  clear  and  full;  in  anger  loud  and  rough;  in  fear,  it  is 
tremulous  and  low,  as  it  is,  also,  under  deep  and  tender  emo- 
tions. And  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  those  gestures  which 
are  true  to  nature,  are  at  first,  perfectly  involuntary.  In  fear, 
the  face  grows  pale  ;  in  fright,  the  hands  are  raised  and  drawn 
back;  in  devotion  or  joy,  the  hands  are  raised  and  clasped. — 
So  in  the  look  of  the  eye,  the  turn  of  the  lip,  wrinkling  of  the 
forehead,  emotion  is  frequently  expressed,  with  more  empha- 
sis than  could  be  done  in  words,  alone.  One  hand  open,  and 
stretched  out,  salutes ;  both  open  and  extended,  invite;  and 
with  one  finger  we  direct,  point  out,  or  command.  The  head 
affirms  or  assents  by  nodding,  and  denies  by  shaking.  Bend- 
ing forward,  it  indicates  devotion,  or  modesty,  and  thus  the 
whole  body  is  made  to  talk  and  express  the  emotions  of  the 
mind. 


SrSCEFTIBILITY.  23. 

Volumes  might  be  filled,  demonstrating  this  power,  but  my 
limits  will  only  allow  a  partial  view  of  this  subject. 
A  skilful  physician  related  to  me  the  following  : — 
A  man  called  on  him  for  medical  advice,  complaining  that 
all  the  medicines  he  had  taken  for  some  time  previous,  had 
the  effect  of  an  aperient.      He  seemed  to  think  he  had  been 
imposed   upon  by  the   doctors,  and  begged  to  know   of  my 
friend  Dr.  W.  if  he  could  not  give  him  something  that  would 
benefit  him  without  producing  this  effect.     The  Doctor  assur- 
ed him  that  he  had  no  doubt  at  all,  that  he  could  gratify  him 
in  this  respect.     Accordingly,  he  retired  to  another  room,  and 
prepared   a   few   pills,  entirely  of  icheat  bread,  and  handed 
them  to  the  patient,  with  suitable  directions.      In  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  the  Doctor  fell  in  with  the  patient,  and  received 
from  him  a   severe  ,castigatioD.     "AYhy,  Doctor,"  said  he, 
-'  those  yills  you  gave  me  physicked  me  almost  to  death.     I 
never  took  any  thing  before  so  powerful !" 

I  reminded  the  Doctor  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  giv- 
ifio:  the  patient  -piUs  of  any  kind.  Had  the  sam.e  substance 
been  given  in  the  form  of  powders,  probably  it  would  have 
produced  no  effect  at  all. 

I  had  the  following  from  a  scientific  gentleman  of  this  city. 
A  little  daughter  of  his  was  indisposed,  and  he  gave  her,  for 
an  aperient,  a  little  pure  water  slightly  coloured  with  wine. 
She  thouofht  it  was  tincture  of  rhubarb,  and  it  affected  her 
accordingly. 

I  had  a  patient,  a  very  intelligent  lady,  who  was  so  susceptible 
that  she  would  drink  from  a  tumbler  of  clear  v/ater,  and  be- 
lieve what  she  drank  to  be  lemonade,  coffee,  brandy,  or  any 
other  liquid  which  I  told  her  it  was;  and  this  she  did  in  the 
waking  state.  I  once  gave  her  a  tumbler  of  water  slightly 
coloured  with  molasses,  telling  her  it  was  senna;  and  she  de- 
clared it  to  be  senna,  on  drinking  it,  and  it  produced  the  desir- 
ed effect. 

Burton  (Anat.  Mel.  vol.  1,  p.  221,)  says,  a  person  who  has 
often  taken  nauseating  medicines,  will  be  nauseated  by  the 
thought  of  receiving  it  again;  and  a  thought  has  often  proved 
a  powerful  emetic.      And  not  only  has  a  thought  proved  an 


24«  PATHETISM. 

emetic,  but  the  sight  of  a  distasteful  cathartic  has  for  some 
time  operated  the  same,  as  when  that  medicine  is  actually  ^ 
received  into  the  stomach,  as  testilied  by  many  experienced 
physicians,  especially  as  related  by  Cornelius  Agrippa  (out  of 
Gulielmus  Parisiensus).     In  another  place  he  says: 

"  Men,  if  tliey  see  but  another  man  tremble,  giddy,  or  sick 
of  some  fearful  disease,  their  apprehension  and  fear  are  so 
strong  in  this  kind,  that  they  will  have  such  a  disease.  Or  if 
by  some  soothsayer,  wise  man,  fortune  teller,  or  physician, 
they  be  told  they  shall  have  such  a  disease,  they  will  so  se- 
riously apprehend  it,  that  they  will  instantly  labour  of  it — a 
thing  familiar  in  China  (saith  Riccius  the  Jesuit).  If  it  be 
told  them  that  ihey  shall  be  sick  on  such  a  day,  when  that 
day  comes  they  will  surely  be  sick,  and  will  be  so  terribly  af- 
flicted, that  sometimes  they  will  die  upon  it." 

A  fact  is  stated  in  Lockhart's  life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  which 
shows  the  power  of  mind  over  the  system,  to  prevent  at  will, 
the  usual  effects  of  medicine.  It  is  related  by  Scott  himself, 
of  a  common  farmer,  whose  father  had  given  him  a  quantity 
of  laudanum,  instead  of  some  other  medicine.  This  mistake 
was  instantly  discovered  ;  but  the  young  man  had  sufficient 
energy  and  force  of  mind  to  resist  the  operation  of  the  drug. 
AVhile  all  around  him  w^ere  stupid  wMth  fear,  he  started  up, 
saddled  his  horse,  and  rode  to  Selkirk,  a  distance  of  six  or 
seven  miles,  thus  saving  the  time  that  the  doctor  must  have 
taken  in  coming  to  him.  His  agony  of  mind  prevented  the 
operation  of  the  opiate  until  he  had  alighted,  when  it  instant- 
ly began  to  operate.     He  was,  however,  perfectly  recovered. 

Some  ten  years  ago,  while  laboring  under  a  severe  inflamma- 
tion of  the  throat  and  lungs,  a  friend  prepared  for  me  a  mix- 
ture of  molasses  and  camphor.  Soon  after  taking  it  I  began 
to  feel  strangely,  and,  on  inquiry,  found  that  I  had  actually 
eaten  a  piece  of  the  gum,  larger  than  a  nutmeg.  I  felt,  of 
course,  a  little  alarmed,  but  immediately  resolved  that  it 
should  not  overcome  the  nervous  system,  inasmuch  as  I  had 
an  appointment  to  appear  before  a  public  meeting  that  even- 
ing. I  walked,  durrng  an  hour  or  so,  resisting  all  the  while 
the  action  of  the  camphor  by  a  determined  resolution  not  to 
be  overcome  by  it ;    and,  without  any  difficulty,  I  succeeded, 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  25 

to  the   no   small  surprise  of  the  friends  who  had  become 
cognizant  of  what  I  had  done. 

Dr,  James  Gregory  ordered  an  opiate  to  a  young  man,  to 
relieve  sleepless  nights,  under  which  he  had  suffered  in  con- 
valescence from  fever.  He  informed  the  patient  that  he  had 
prescribed  an  anodyne,  to  be  taken  at  bedtime;  but  the  invalid 
being  somewhat  deaf,  understood  him  to  say  an  aperient. 
Next  morning,  on  the  doctor's  inquiring  whether  he  had  slept 
after  the  anodyne,  he  replied  "  Anodyne  I  I  thought  it  was  an 
aperient,  and  it  has  indeed  operated  briskly."         -*. 

A  female  lunatic  was  admitted  into  the  county  asylum,  at 
Hanwell,  under  Sir  Wiliam  Ellis.  She  imagined  that  she 
was  labouring  under  a  complaint  that  required  the  use  of 
mercury ;  but  Sir  William,  finding  the  idea  of  that  disease 
was  an  insane  delusion,  yet  considering  that  flattering  the 
opinion  of  the  lunatic  to  a  certain  degree,  would  be  favorable 
to  the  recovery  of  her  reason,  ordered  bread  pills  for  her,  and 
called  them  mercurial  pills.  After  a  few  days  she  was  sali- 
vated, and  the  pills  were  discontinued.  On  again  ordering 
them  after  the  salivation  had  subsided,  she  was  a  second 
time  affected  in  the  same  manner ;  and  this  again  happened 
on  the  recurrence  to  the  use  of  the  pills  a  third  time. 

A  physician  states,  that  a  lady  under  his  care  assured  him 
that  opium,  in  any  form,  always  caused  headache,  and  rest- 
lessness, and  vomiting  on  the  following  morning;  and  on  pre- 
scribing laudanum  for  her,  under  its  usual  name,  "  tinctura 
opii,"  he  found  that  her  account  of  its  effects  was  correct ; 
but  on  prescribing  it  under  the  term  "■  tinctura  thebaica," 
which  she  did  not  understand,  (she  read  every  prescription,) 
it  produced  its  usual  salutary  effect,  and  was  continued  for 
some  time  without  inducing  the  smallest  inordinate  action. 

I  have  heard  of  a  case,  in  which  the  hair  was  changed, 
from  black  to  gray,  in  a  few  hours,  merely  by  the  effects  of 
fear. 

And,  numerous  cases  of  death,  have  occurred,  produced 
merely  by  the  influence  of  mind  over  this  susceptibility. 

The  Areekee  are  a  sect  among  the  heathen  in  New  Zea- 
land, described  by  Mr.  White,  a  Wesleyan  Missionary,  who 
c 


26  PATHETISM. 

says:  "They  pretend  to  have  intercourse  with  departed 
spirits,  by  which  they  are  able  to  kill,  by  incantation,  any 
person  on  whom  their  anger  may  fall ;  and  it  is  a  fact,"  adds 
Mr.  White,  "  that  numbers  fall  a  prey  to  their  confidence  in 
the  cflicacies  of  the  curses  of  these  men,  and  pine  under  the 
influence  of  despair  and  die." — Miss.  Her.  vol.  23,  p.  314, 

Burton,  (Anat.  of  Mel.)  speaks  of  a  Jew  in  France,  who 
walked  by  chance,  in  the  dark,  over  a  dangerous  passage  or 
plank,  that  lay  over  a  brook,  Avithout  harm ;  the  next  day 
perceiving  what  danger  he  had  been  in,  he  dropped  down 
dead.  He  further  records  that  at  Basil,  a  child  died  through 
fright  by  seeing  a  malefactor  hung  in  gibbets ;  and  that  in  the 
same  town,  beyond  the  Rhine,  another  child  died  on  seeing  a 
carcase  taken  from  the  grave. 

The  case  of  the  criminal  who  was  condemned  to  die,  is  well 
known.  The  physicians  obtained  leave  to  experiment  upon 
him  in  the  following  manner:  He  was  blindfolded,  and  made 
to  believe  that  he  was  to  be  bled  to  death.  A  vessel  of  water 
was  placed  near  him,  and  when  his  arm  had  been  operated 
upon,  as  if  a  vein  had  been  opened,  the  w^ater  was  set  to  run- 
ninff,  so  that  the  noise  of  the  small  stream  sounded  like  the 
blood  issuing  from  the  arm.  In  a  few  minutes  the  patient 
began  to  complain  of  faintness.  His  pulse  grew  more  and 
more  feeble,  till  in  a  short  time  he  actually  expired,  and  this, 
too,  when  not  one  drop  of  blood  had  been  drawn  from  his 
veins. 

It  is  recorded  of  a  Roman  mother,  that  she  instantly  died  of 
joy,  on  meeting  her  son  as  he  returned  from  the  battle  of  Cau- 
nce,  where  she  supposed  he  had  been  slain  by  the  veterans  of 
Hannibal. 

A  lady  in  Kentucky,  the  wife  of  David  Prentiss,  Esq.  fell 
dead  in  an  instant,  while  reading  a  letter  which  brought  her 
the  news  of  her  husband's  death. 

Well  authenticated  cases  are  upon  record,  which  go  to 
show  that  the  mind  may  sometimes  assume  such  an  astonish- 
ing degree  of  power  over  this  susceptibility,  as  to  control  the 
involuntary  muscles,  and  indeed,  suspend  the  entire  functions 
of  the  animal  system.     It  is  said  of  Betterton,  an  actor,  that 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  27 

he  could,  at  will,  render  his  face  pale,  and  perfectly  bloodless  ; 
and  a  case  is  mentioned  by  Blumenbach,  of  a  man,  who  could 
in  the  same  way,  control  the  action  of  his  own  stomach.  A 
German,  now  living,  by  the  name  of  Kerner,  it  is  said,*  pos- 
sesses the  power  of  suspending  the  action  of  his  own  heart; 
and  I  have  frequently  done  the  same  thing  for  a  few  moments, 
in  some  cases  of  somnipath)''. 

A  most  extraordinary  instance,  illustrating  this  power,  is 
given  by  Dr.  Cheynef  It  was  in  the  case  of  Col.  Townshend, 
who,  after  having  been  sometime  indisposed,  sent  for  Drs. 
Baynard  and  Cheyne,  the  latter  of  whom  gives  the  folloAving 
account  of  what  they  heard  and  saw : — 

''  He  told  us  he  had  sent  for  us  to  give  him  some  account 
of  an  odd  sensation  he  had  for  some  time  observed  and  felt  in 
himself:  he  could  die  or  expire  when  he  pleased,  and  yet  by 
an  effort,  or  somehow,  he  could  come  to  life  again ;  which  it 
seems  he  had  sometimes  tried  before  he  had  sent  for  us.  We 
heard  this  with  surprise;  but  as  it  was  not  to  be  accounted  for 
from  any  common  principles,  we  could  hardly  believe  the  fact 
as  he  related  it,  much  less  give  any  account  of  it,  unless  he 
should  please  to  make  the  experiment  before  us,  which  we 
were  unwilling  he  should  do,  lest  in  his  weak  condition  he 
mi^ht  carry  it  too  far.  He  continued  to  talk  very  distinctly 
and  sensibly  above  a  quarter  of  an  hour  about  this  (to  him) 
surprising  sensation,  and  insisted  so  much  on  our  seeing  the 
trial  mnde,  that  we  were  at  last  forced  to  comply.  We  all 
three  felt  his  pulse  first;  it  v/as  distinct  though  small  and 
ihreadv,  and  his  heart  had  its  usual  beating.  He  composed 
himself  on  his  back,  and  lay  in  a  still  posture  some  time; 
while  I  held  his  right  hand,  Dr.  Baynard  laid  his  hand  on  his 
heart,  and  Mr.  Skrine  held  a  clean  looking  glass  to  his 
raouth.  I  found  his  pulse  sink  gradually,  till  at  last  I  could 
not  feel  any  by  the  most  exact  and  nice  touch.  Dr.  Baynard 
could  not  feel'the  least  motion  of  his  heart,  nor  Mr.  Skrine 
the  least  soil  of  breath  on  the  bright  mirror  he  held  to  his 
mouth;  then  each  of  us  by  turns  examined  his  arm,  heart, 
and  breath,  but  could  not  by  the  nicest  scrutiny  discover  the 
least  symptoms  of  life  in  him.  We  reasoned  a  long  time  about 
this  odd  appearance  as  well  as  we  could,  and  all  of  us  judging 
it  inexplicable  and  unaccountable ;  and  finding  that  he  still 
continued  in  that  condition,  we  began  to  conclude  that  he  had 

*  London  Lancet,  Feb.  18,  1843, 

I  Treatise  on  Nervous  Diseases,  p.  307.  • 


28  '  PATHETISM. 

indeed  carried  the  experiment  too  far,  and  at  last  "vvere  satisfied 
he  was  actually  dead,  and  were  just  ready  to  leave  him.  This 
continued  about  half  an  hour,  by  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in 
autumn.  As  we  were  going  away,  we  observed  some  motion 
about  the  body,  and  upon  examination,  found  his  pulse  and 
the  motion  of  his  heart  returning;  he  began  to  breathe  gently, 
and  speak  softly :  we  were  all  astonished  to  the  last  degree 
at  this  unexpected  change,  and  after  some  further  conversa- 
tion with  him  and  among  ourselves,  we  went  away  fully  sat- 
isfied as  to  all  the  particulars  of  this  fact,  but  confounded  and 
puzzled,  and  not  able  to  form  any  rational  scheme  that  might 
account  for  it.  He  afterwards  called  for  his  attorney,  added 
a  codicil  to  his  will,  settled  legacies  on  his  servants,  received 
the  sacrament,  and  calmly  and  composedly  expired  about  five 
and  six  o'clock  that  evening." 

A  case  was  related  some  two  years  since  by  an  eminent 
physician  to  his  medical  class,  in  Boston,  Mass.,  substantially 
as  follows.  A  lady  applied  to  him  for  the  treatment  of  a  can- 
cer upon  the  right  side  of  her  face,  about  the  size  of  a  two- 
quart  bottle.  Upon  deciding  that  an  operation  would  be  ne- 
cessary to  save  her  life,  she  expressed  great  unwillingness  to 
submit  to  it,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  not  give  her  some- 
thing that  would  lessen  the  pain  when  it  was  performed.  To 
gratify  her  he  gave  her  something  for  this  purpose.  Three 
days  after,  she  came  to  him  again,  and  informed  him,  that  she 
had  fortunately,  heard  of  a  cure,  and  which  she  would  try^ 
with  his  approval.  It  was  this — that  if  she  should  apply  the 
hand  of  a  dead  man  to  the  cancer,  three  mornings  in  succes- 
sion^ it  would  certainly  prove  effectual;  a  neighbor  had  just 
died,  thus  affording  an  opportunity  for  the  trial. 

At  first,  the  Dr.  was  disposed  to  laugh  at  her  notions,  but 
finally,  concluded  it  best  to  yield  to  them,  and  so  expressed  a 
hope  that  the  means  proposed  might  prove  successful.  In 
about  three  weeks  afterwards,  this  same  woman  returned, 
and  putting  her  hand  up  to  her  face  where  the  cancer  had 
been,  said,  "Dr.,  look  here!"  And  sure  enough,  the  Dr.  on 
examination,  found  the  cancer  had  wholly  disappeared. 

The  above  cases  show  most  clearly,  the  astonishing  influ- 
ence which  the  mind  often  exerts  over  one's  own  nervous  sys- 
tem.    And  that  the  mind  of  one  person  may  exert  an  influ- 


'  SrSCEPTIBILITY.  29 

enre  over  the  susceptibility  of  others,  is  just  as  plain  as  that 
we  are  ever  affected  at  all  by  what  we  hear  or  see  done  by 
others.  How  often  are  whole  assemblies  of  people  moved  even 
to  tears,  by  what  they  see  and  hear  from  another,  speaking  or 
acting  before  them.  But  that  peculiar  agency  by  which  the 
speaker  transfers  his  own  feelings  into  the  minds  of  his  hear- 
ers, is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  subject  of  our  present  in- 
quiry. 

The  following  case  will  show  the  power  which  one  mind 
sometimes  acquires  over  the  susceptibility  of  another,  even 
when  the  latter  does  not  seem  to  have  any  apprehension  of 
what  is  done  to  him. 

Mr.  Forbes,  in  the  2d  vol.  of  his  oriental  memoirs,  says 
that — "  he  was  acquainted  with  a  Banian  named  Lullabhy, 
the  richest  man  in  the  city,  who  was  universally  believed  to 
possess  the  power  of  curing  the  bite  of  venomous  serpents, 
by  a  knowledge  peculiar  to  himself,  which  he  never  impart- 
ed to  another.  By  this  art,  he  certainly  recovered  many  na- 
tives from  a  desperate  state,  after  being  wounded  by  the  cobra' 
di-capello  and  the  scarlet  snake  of  Cubbeer-Burr,  without 
touching  the  patient,  or  prescribing  any  thing  inwardly. 

"  Mr.  Gambler,  at  that  time  chief  of  Earache,  was  extreme- 
ly incredulous  respecting  talismans,  charms,  divinations  and 
preternatural  pretensions  of  the  Bramins;  and  his  opinion  of 
Lullabhy  was  publicly  known,  when  a  circumstance  in  his 
own  garden  afforded  a  fair  opportunity  of  detecting  its  fallacy. 
One  of  the  under  gardeners  was  bitten  by  a  cohra-di-capello, 
and  pronounced  to  be  in  danger.     Mr.  Gambler  was  holding 
a  council  in  an  upper  pavilion,  and  at  the  desire  of  Blr.  Per- 
rott,  their   second  council,  immediately  sent  for   Lullabhy, 
without  informing  him  of  the  incidents,  of  which  he  remain- 
ed ignorant  until  ushered  into  the  chief's  presence.     The  gar- 
dener was  lying  on  a  slight  bed  of  cane  rope,  in  a  veranda 
adjoining  the  council  room. 

"Being  asked  if  he  could  effect  a  cure,  Lullabhy  modestly 
replied,  that  by  God's  blessing  he  trusted  he  should  succeed. 
The  poor  wretch  was  at  this  time,  in  great  agony  and  deliri- 
ous; he  afterwards  became  torpid  and  speechless;  still  Lul- 
labhy was  not  permitted  to  commence  his  operations.  The 
members  of  council  anxiously  waited  the  chief's  permission, 
especially,  when  Lullabhy  asserted,  that  any  farther  loss  of 
time  would  render  it  too  late.  Mr.  Gambler  examined  the 
man's  pulse  by  a  stop  watch,  amd  when  convinced  that  his 
dissolution  was  inevitablv  approaching,  he  allowed  Lullabhy 
cl 


30  PATHETI&M, 

to  exert  his  influence.  After  a  short  silent  prayer,  Lullabhy 
in  presence  of  all  the  company,  moved  his  short  dagger  over 
the  head  of  the  expiring  man,  without  touching  him.  The 
patient  continued  for  some  time,  motionless;  in  half  an  hour 
his  heart  began  to  bcai,  circulation  quickened,  and  within  the 
hour  he  moved  his  limbs  and  recovered  his  senses.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  the  third  hour,  Lullabhy  had  effected  his  cure. — 
The  man  was  sent  home  to  his  family,  and  in  a  few  days  re- 
covered from  the  weakness  occasioned  by  convulsive  parox- 
isms, which  probably  would  neither  have  been  so  severe  nor 
of  such  long  continuance,  had  the  counteracting  power  been 
sooner  applied." 

Of  the  truth  of  this  account  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt,  and  it  is  scarcely  more  extraordinary  than  many  well 
attested  cases  of  cure  by  pathetism ;  though  it  differs  from 
the  common  cases  of  the  latter  kind,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not 
appear,  that  the  operator  in  this  cure,  came  in  contact  wnth 
his  patient,  or  that  he  even  so  much  as  touched  him  with  his 
dagger.  The  laws  by  which  the  mind,  (and  through  this  the 
susceptibility,)  is  affected  without  contact,  will  appear  in  the 
sequel. 

The  foregoing  facts  demonstrate  the  influence  of  the  mind 
over  health  and  life.  The  following  are  of  another  class,  but 
show  as  clearly  the  power  of  which  I  am  nov/  speaking. — 
Cases  are  well  known,  where  a  sudden  fright  of  the  mother 
has  left  an  indelible  impression  upon  the  child.  Dr.  Howship 
relates  the  case  of  a  woman  who  was  crossing  a  frozen  river 
in  a  state  of  pregnancy.  The  ice  cracked  and  burst,  and  she 
was  terribly  frightened.  When  the  child  was  born,  its  skin 
was  gaped  considerably  in  several  places.  The  sight  of  an 
epileptic  has  been  known  to  transfer  this  disease  to  the  foetus  ; 
and  a  case  is  reported  by  Dr.  Joslin,  in  which  a  child  was 
born  with  small  pox,  in  consequence  of  the  exposure  of  its 
mother,  only  thirty  days  previous  to  the  birth,  of  the  child,  and 
this  too,  when  the  mother  had  been  perfectly  secured  from 
varioloid,  by  vaccination,  some  thirty  years  before.  There 
were  upon  the  body  of  the  child,  about  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty regularly  formed  small-pox  pustules,  of  the  usual  size, 
and  filled  with  a  yellowish  purulent  matter.* 

•  New  York  Lancet,  May  21,  1842.— Two  similar  cases  arc  given  in 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  31 

The  sight  of  an  ugly  or  disagreeable  person  has  been  known 
to  produce  an  effect  upon  the  features  of  the  embryo.  Indeed, 
this  principle  is  recognised  in  the  bible  as  governing  the  sus- 
ceptibilities of  animals.  [Gen.  30:  37.]  It  was  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Lacedemonians,  when  they  placed  beautiful  sta- 
tues in  the  rooms  with  their  pregnant  wives.  It  would  seem 
that  this  susceptibility  is  greatly  increased  during  the  period 
of  gestation.  I  knew  a  mother,  who,  during  this  state,  drank 
two  quarts  of  brandy  in  twenty-four  hours,  without  showing 
any  degree  of  intoxication;  and  at  another  time,  she  ate  two 
quarts  or  more  of  raw  rice,  without  any  injury.  Tulpius 
speaks  of  a  lady  who  devoured  1400  herrings  during  pregnan- 
cy; and  of  a  woman  who  ate  twenty  pounds  of  pepper;  and 
another  who  ate  a  live  carp  from  head  to  tail.  Another  bit 
off  the  heads  of  twelve  mullets  and  ate  them;  and  another 
who  actually  murdered  her  own  husband,  and  after  eating 
what  she  could,  salted  the  rest  for  future  use. 

There  is  another  property  of  the  living  body,  which  it 
would  be  unpardonable  not  to  notice  in  this  connection,  and 
especially  as  it  would  seem  to  be  so  directly  connected  with 
the  general  subject  now  under  consideration.  The  skin,  which 
covers  the  entire  surface  of  the  body,  is  filled  with  innumera- 
ble pores,  so  inconceivably  small,  that  in  many  places  they 
are  scarcely  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  In  this  covering  the 
nerves  of  sensation  are  commenced,  but  thefunctions  to  which 
I  would  call  the  attention  of  the  reader,  are  those,  simply, 
which  are  known  under  ihe  term  perspiration  and  absorption, 
or  inhibition.  Life  and  health  could  not  be  continued  for  any 
length  of  time,  but  for  the  constant  exhalation  of  a  fluid 
through  these  pores,  amounting  in  weight  to  more  than  one- 

the  same  work  for  March  26,  and  April  26,  1S4>;  and  another  in  the 
London  Lancet  for  Feb.  4,  1S42.  And  from  such  facts  as  the  following 
it  would  seem,  that  the  same  law  predominates  over  the  susceptibili- 
ties of  the  feathered  tribe  also.  "  A  hen  belonging  to  Benj.  Gallaway, 
Esq  ,  of  Weakley  county,  Tenn.,  was  some  time  ago  bitten  by  a  rattle- 
snake, but  by  proper  attention  the  wound  was  cured.  However,  strange 
to  tell,  we  are  informed  that  every  egg  laid  since  that  time  by  this  heii 
has  a  picture  of  a  rattlesnake  represented  upon  the  shell  !  j\Ir.  Galla- 
way, who  is  afraid  to  use  these  eggs  in  the  family,  has  kept  them,  and 
will  with  pleasure  exliibit  them  to  the  inspection  of  the  incredulous. — 
N.  Y.  Sun,  April  14,  1843. 


32  TATHETISM. 

half  of  all  the  food  and  drink  received  into  the  stomach,  and 
lander,  also,  than  that  disposed  of  by  the  other  secretions. 

That  various  substances  are  received  into  the  system, 
ihrou^^h  the  skin,  or  from  the  surface  of  the  body,  is  as  well 
known  as  any  fact  connected  with  human  physiology.  The 
liand,  immersed  in  warm  water,  will  absorb  between  seventy 
and  one  hundred  grains  of  the  lluid,  in  the  course  of  one  hour; 
and  the  weight  of  the  entire  system  is  proportionally  increased, 
bv  remaining  for  a  short  time,  completely  covered  with  wa- 
ter. 

Seamen,  when  suffering  from  thirst,  have  obtained  relief  by 
applying  wet  clothes  to  the  skin,  or  bathing  even  in  salt  wa- 
ter. 

Bathing  the  head  with  alchohol  will  produce  intoxication, 
and  metallic  quicksilver  has  been  found  even  in  the  bones  of 
persons  who  had  been  subjected  to  mercurial  frictions.  Va- 
rious medicines  and  poisons  are  received  into  the  system  by 
being  merely  applied  to  the  skin;  and  from  this  well-known 
disposition  of  the  system  to  drink  in  the  substances  applied 
to  the  surface,  a  theory  of  medicine  was  commenced  some 
three  or  four  cenluries  before  Christ,  and  which  has  since  re- 
ceived the  nameof /«/ro/e;)//c,  from  the  practice  of  anointing 
the  body,  or  applying  medicine  to  the  surface  by  friction. 

If  the  system  be  thus  pervious  to  fluids,  how  much  more 
so  must  it  be  to  imponderable  gases,  or  agencies  as  subtle  as 
magnetism  or  electricity  ?  If  a  bladder  be  filled  with  hydro- 
gen gas,  and  suspended  in  the  air,  it  will  be  penetrated  in  a 
short  time  by  the  air  with  which  it  is  surrounded ;  and  when 
external  agencies  are  applied  to  the  surface  of  the  body,  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  but  that  they  may  penetrate  and 
affect  the  vital  forces,  with  equal  facility. 

Two  of  the  most  important  pathological  facts,  demonstrat- 
ino"this  susceptibility,  we  find  detailed  in  the  London  Lancet 
for  Jan.  14,  1843.  They  are  given  by  Dr.  W.  F.  Bow,  and 
are  as  follows: — 

*'  One  remarkable  phenomenon,  incomprehensible  without 
the  aid  of  the  law  of  nervous  induction,  results  from  the  ac- 
tion on  the  surface  of  the  body  produced  by  a  blister.     This 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  33 

phenomenon  I  shall  describe  in  the  words  of  the  author,  who 
first  made  me  cognizant  of  it: — '  Thus  I  have  been  informed 
by  a  respectable  surgeon,  that  he  found  on  opening  the  cran- 
ium of  a  patient  who  had  died  after  a  blister  had  been  recent- 
h''  applied,  an  inflamed  mark,  exactly  corresponding  in  shape 
and  size  with  the  external  mark  of  the  blister,  ivhich  penetra- 
ting  the  scalp,  and  the  cranium,  ivas  distinctly  visible  on  the 
dura  mater. ^ 

"  Mr.  Porter,  in  his  surgical  observations  on  the  diseases  of 
the  Larynx  and  Trachea,  expresses  himself  strongly  against 
the  use  of  blisters  in  acute  laryngites,  particularly  when  ap- 
plied to  the  neighborhood  of  the  part.  He  says  they  cannot 
be  resorted  to  at  an  early  period  without  doing  considerable 
mischief.  A  case  is  related  when,  in  acute  pneumonia,  the 
application  of  a  blister  was  followed  by  an  aggravation  of  the 
symptoms  and  death.  On  dissection,  a  portion  of  the  surface 
of  the  lung  exactly  corresponding  to  the  size  and  shape  of 
the  blister,  was  found  in  a  more  advanced  stage  fif  inflamma- 
tion than  the  remaining  pulmonary  tissue. 

"  I  have  been  told  by  a  gentleman  whose  opportunities  for 
observation  have  been  frequent,  that  he  has  repeatedly  seen 
marks  on  the  pleura,  covering  the  lungs,  leaving  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  blister  which  had  been  applied  to  the  chest,  and 
the  same  on  the  intestinal  peritoneum,  of  the  size  ajnd  shape 
of  the  blister  which  had  been  applied  to  the  abdomen." 

And  Dr.  Bow  adds  : 

"  The  knowledge  of  the  fact,  that  a  morbid  action  artificial- 
ly produced  on  the  skin,  will  excite  a  similar  action  on  an  in- 
ternal surface,  is  of  the  highest  practical  importance ;  for  if 
we  find,  that  by  lessening  the  contractile  power  of  the  capil- 
laries of  an  internal  surface,  we  may  rest  assured,  that  we 
have  also  the  power  of  increasing  the  contractile  power  of 
the  capillaries  of  an  internal  surface,  by  applying  to  the  adja- 
cent external  surface,  agents  which  we  know  do  augment  the 
contractile  power  of  the  capillaries  of  the  skin." 

The  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing  facts,  will 
be  seen  in  the  course  of  the  following  pages. 

3.  The  adaptation  of  the  different  susceptibilities 
TO  the  economy  and  general  purposes  of  life. 

In  no  part  of  the  Great  Creator's  works  do  we  see  his  wis- 
dom and  goodness  more  strikingly  exhibited,  than  in  this  pro- 
perty of  the  human  system.  Thus  we  find  the  organic  sus- 
ceptibility of  the  stomach,  is  adapted  to  those  articles  of  food 


34  TATHETISM. 

wliich  by  the  same  plastic  liand,  have  been  organized  and 
prepared  for  the  nourishment  of  the  body.  And  this  import- 
ant organ  lias  ^vilh  propriety  enough,  been  denominated  the 
conscience  of  the  system ;  for  when  in  a  healthy  condition, 
with  what  fidelity  does  the  little  feelers  with  which  its  inner 
surface  is  endowed,  detect  the  qualities  of  the  different  sub- 
stances received  into  it?  And  with  what  surprising  readi- 
ness do  its  muscular  fibres  commence  their  action  on  these 
substances,  and  the  whole  structure,  as  it  were,  becomes  agi- 
tated in  its  efforts  to  digest  and  dispose  of  them,  according  to 
the  wants  of  the  various  parts  of  the  body.  So  if  we  exam- 
ine the  circulating  organs,  we  shall  see  the  same  adaptation 
in  the  susceptibility  of  the  heart,  veins,  arteries,  and  capilla- 
ries. We  find  in  the  human  species,  what  we  may  call  a 
double  heart,  as  it  certainly  consists  of  two  separate  organs, 
each  of  which  gives  motion  to  a  different  kind  of  blood.  And 
as  the  blood  is  poured  from  one  of  them  into  the  arteries,  the 
extreme  elasticity  of  these  little  tubes,  aid  in  sending  that  im- 
portant fluid  into  every  part  of  the  system.  And  the  same 
forces  assist  in  circulating  the  lymph  and  chyle,  and  in  some 
cases  this  -subtile  power  has  continued  to  act  for  some  thirty 
minutes  after  death  had  separated  the  head  from  the  body. 

And  how  susceptible  are  the  respiratory  organs  to  the  pres- 
ence and  properties  of  air?  If  we  examine  the  texture  and 
shape  of  the  lungs,  together  with  their  functions,  and  the  re- 
lation they  sustain  to  the  other  vital  organs,  we  shall  see  the 
truth  of  this  remark. 

The  same  may  be  said  also,  of.  the  sensorial  functions. — 
The  nerves  of  sensation  commence  in  the  extremes  of  every 
portion  of  the  system,  so  that  no  part  of  the  surface  can  be 
found  where  they  are  not;  and  all  centering  in  the  brain,  we 
see  their  adaptation  to  the  great  and  important  purposes  for 
which  they  were  designed.  All  the  organs  of  motion  also, 
send  their  respective  nerves  up  to  the  same  centre,  where  the 
mind  takes  cognizance  of  the  impressions  made  upon  the 
nerves,  and  from  which  the  will  gives  out  its  mandates  to  be 
obeyed  by  the  various  parts  of  the  system  which  have  been 
subjected  to  its  control.     In  a  word,  the  whole  of  this  suscep- 


SUSCEPTIBILITY.  35 

tibility  may,  perhaps,  be  traced,  more  or  less,  to  the  functions 
of  the  nervous  or  ganglionic  system.  Consisting  of  so  many 
parts,  so  minutely  and  mysteriously  constructed,  and  distribu- 
ted over  the  entire  body,  and  all  concentrating  in  the  brain,  it 
is  curious  enough,  to  see  how  insensible  the  brain,  nerves  and 
ganglia,  themselves  are,  while  they  are  evidently  the  medium 
through  which  all  sensation,  emotion,  passion,  or  feeling  of 
any  and  every  kind,  which  become  subjects  of  recollection  and 
reflection  in  the  human  mind. 

Hence,  it  is  plain,  that  the  diff'erent  susceptibilities  of  the 
living  body,  are  exactly  adapted  to  the  real  necessities  of  the 
system  ;  and  it  follows,  that  if  we  find  one  susceptible  to  the 
influence  of  pathetism,  it  is  because  the  system  needs  its  aid 
in  the  performance  of  its  various  functions;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  patient  is  not  susceptible  to  any  influence  from  this 
agency,  it  is  because  the  system  does  not  need  it,  but  having 
other  susceptibilities,  it  must  be  relieved  by  the  most  appro- 
priate means. 

This  chapter  shall  now  be  concluded,  by  a  few  observations 
designed  to  assist  in  judging  of  what  maybe  denominated  the 
pathetetic  susceptibility;  that  quality  of  the  system  which 
renders  one  susceptible  of  any  influence  from  the  process  of 
manipulation. 

1.  The  Temperament. — I  have  before  stated,  that  there 
may  be  said  to  be  as  many  temperaments  as  there  are  per- 
sons in  existence.  What  I  mean  is,  that  the  qualities  of  no  two 
systems  are  exactly  alike,  or  are  afl'ected  precisely  in  the  same 
manner  under  the  same  process.  The  temperament  which  is 
most  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  pathetism,  is  one,  which, 
for  distinction's  sake,  we  may  denominate  the  sympathic,  be- 
cause it  most  readily  yields  to  the  touch  of  the  human  hand. 
JMost  somnambulists,  and  somniloquists,  will  be  found  of 
this  temperament.  It  is  most  readily  recognized  as  a  mix- 
lure  of  the  nervous  lymphatic,  or  lymphatic,  sanguine,  and 
nervous.  In  such  persons  we  shall  generally  notice  a  bland, 
blue,  or  grey  eye,  with  extended  pupil;  soft  muscle;  hair  tend- 
ing to  hazel,  or  light  sandy  color.  The  mouth  will  be  some- 
what wider  than  ordinary,  and  the  inside  of  the  hand  will  be 
found  generallv  cold,  or  in  a  state  of  perspiration. 


36  PATHETISM. 

2.  Phrenological  Developments. — The  organs  of  firmness 
small,  and  the  occipital  and  basilar  portions,  inferior.  Per- 
sons highly  susceptible  will  usually  have  the  front  portion 
marked  on  the  ordinary  phrenological  busts  as  Ideality,  large, 
and  fully  developed. 

There  are  other  marks,  which  every  experienced  operator 
must  have  noticed,  but  they  are  not  so  easily  described. 

Various  diseases  often  develope  this  susceptibility,  and  ren- 
der it  quite  easy  to  affect  persons  when  indisposed,  who  are 
not  influenced,  by  this  agency  at  all,  in  a  state  of  good  health. 

The  manner  of  testing  a  person's  susceptibility,  is  described 
in  the  process  of  pathetising,  in  a  succeeding  chapter.  There 
is,  however,  a  still  more  simple  process,  as  follows  : 

Let  the  subject  be  seated  where  one  of  the  hands  and  arms 

may  lay  perfectly  easy.     The  patient  should  consent  to  give 

you  complete  control  of  that  hand,  and  cease  to  exercise  his 

will  over  it  in  any  way.  Then  pass  your  hand,  gently,  from  the 

shoulder  down  inside  of  his,,  to  the  ends  of  the  fingers.     Bring 

your  fingers  inside  of  his,  gently,  as  if  you  would  cause  it  to 

follow  your  own.     Let  this  process  be  continued,  and  if  the 

patient  be  susceptible,  the  effects  will  be  felt,  or  seen,  in  the 

course  of  five  or  ten  minutes.* 

*  Since  the  above  chapter  was  in  type,  my  attention  has  been  called 
tolKahneman's  Organon  of  Homcepalhic  medicine,  pp.  xviii.  xx.  193, 199, 
200,202,  207,  208,  211,  from  which  it  is  perfectly' evident,  that  Hahne- 
man  recognized  the  principle  of  pathetism,  (or  magnetism,)  in  the 
preparation  of  his  medicine  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  his  infinitesimal  doses, 
when  effectual,  perform  their  cures  by  this  very  agency.  So  that  every 
consistent  Homcppathist  is;  in  fact,  a  palhist,  though  he  may  not  be 
aware  of  it. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY. 


It  will  facilitate  the  object  we  have  in  view,  if  we  next  in- 
quire into  the  nature  of  those  laws  of  the  livinof  body  which 
are  concerned  in  producing  what  has  generally  been  under- 
stood by  Sympathy  and  Antipathy.  In  the  last  chapter  I  have 
merely  taken  a  cursory  view  of  a  few  psychological  and  path- 
ological facts,  the  most  of  which  have  long  been  well  known, 
though,  indeed,  it  will  be  acknowledged,  I  think,  that  they 
have  not  been  so  well  understood,  nor  has  there  been  so  much 
use  made  of  them  in  the  various  medical  theories  as  we  misrht 
now,  suppose,  would  have  been,  had  correct  views  more 
generally  obtained  with  regard  to  the  true  science  of  human 
life.  And,  a  similar  remark  may  be  made  of  what  I  am  about 
to  offer  on  the  subject  of  sympathy  and  antipathy. 

I  have  before  shown,  that  the  term  sympathy  has  been  used 
to  signify  a  state  of  fellow  feeling  or  suffering;  when  applied 
to  the  physical  system  it  has  been  used  to  signify  the  suffer- 
ing, or  state  of  one  part  of  the  body,  produced  by  the  state  or 
suffering  of  another.  Without  attempting  a  repetition  of  all 
that  may  be  found  in  medical  works  on  this  subject,  it  will 
perhaps  best  subserve  my  purpose,  if  I  bring  to  my  aid  the 
conclusions  to  which  previous  writers  have  arrived,  and 
add,  also,  whatever  may  appear  to  be  connected  with  these 
laws,  in  the  examination  I  have  been  enabled  to  give  to  this 
part  of  human  physiology.  In  the  use,  therefore,  which  I 
here  make  of  the  term  sympathy,  it  must  not  only  be  under- 
stood to  signify  the  state  of  one  part  which  suffers,  by  the  in- 
jiucnce  which  another,  in  a  previous  state  of  suffering,  extends 
to  it,  but  also,  that  influence  which  one  organ,  or  portion 
of  the  system,  is  found  to  exert  upon  another  part,  what- 
ever    its   nature   may   be;  and   further,   the   reciprocal    in-* 

D 


38  PATHETISM. 

fluences  which  arc  extended  from  one  part  of  the  body  to  an- 
other, and  which  harmonise  in  producing  any  one  effect  which 
may  be  seen  throughout  the  system  generally. 

By  ajitipathy,  must  be  understood,  of  course,  the  reverseof 
sympathy.     The  following  remark  is  from  Dr.  Good  : 

''We  occasionally  meet  amonir  mankind,  with  a  sort  of 
sensation  altogether  wonderful  and  inexplicable.  There  are 
some  persons  so  peculiarly  affected  by  the  presence  of  a  partic- 
ular object,  that  is  neither  seen,  tasted,  heard,  smelt  or  touch- 
ed, as  not  only  to  be  conscious  of  its  presence,  but  to  be  in  ag- 
ony till  it  is  removed.  The  vicinity  of  a  cat  not  unfrequently 
produces  such  an  effect,  and  I  have  been  a  witness  to  the 
most  decisive  proofs  of  this  in  several  instances." 

I  knew  a  person  who  was  so  much  affected  with  the  smell 
of  onions,  as  to  be  unable  to  remain  in  the  house  where  they 
were ;  and  it  is  said,  Henry  the  Third,  of  France,  could  not  en- 
dure the  presence  of  a  cat.  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon  fell  down 
in  a  fit  whenever  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon;  the  phi- 
losopher Boyle  could  not  endure  the  sound  of  water  drawn 
from  a  cock.  Erasmus  trembled  at  the  smell  or  sight  offish; 
Marshall  d'Albert  fainted  at  the  sight  of  a  sucking  pig;  La 
MoUie  la  Voyer  could  not  endure  the  sound  of  music ;  and 
Shakspeare  speaks  of  some  person  in  his  day  who  could  not 
endure  the  sound  of  the  bagpipe.  The  celebrated  astronomer 
Brahe,  was  totally  paralyzed  in  his  limbs  at  the  sight  of  a 
live  hare;  and  we  have  known  intelligent  persons  who  could 
not  endure  the  sight  of  a  rat.  Some  persons  are  peculiarly  af- 
fected on  touching  certain  kinds  of  metals,  and  others  are  af- 
fected in  the  same  way  if  they  touch  them  only  in  their  imagin- 
ation. An  intelligent  lady  of  my  acquaintance  had  such  an 
antipathy  to  spiders,  that  for  eight  years  she  retained  the 
sense  of  disgust  and  horror,  which  it  gave  her,  on  finding  one 
upon  her  person. 

Now,  it  is  quite  certain,  that  these  states  of  feeling  do  not 
depend  upon  the  judgment,  but  they  must  have  their  origin 
in  a  peculiarity  of  the  physical  nature  of  each  person.  So  it 
is  in  common  life.  There  is,  as  it  were,  an  atmosphere  sur- 
rounding every  individual,  and  which  you  perceive  at  once, 
when  you  approach  him.     On  the  first  sight  of  one  person, 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  39 

you  feel  instinctively  repelled,  and  you  do  not  find  it  possible 
to  feel  pleased  with  being  near  to  him,  or  to  delight  in  his 
company.  But,  with  another  person  you  are  delighted  at 
once.  You  feel  an  attachment  to  him,  for  which  you  can 
render  no  reason  at  all,  no  more  than  you  could  for  the  anti- 
pathy you  felt  for  the  other.  All  our  feelings  of  love,  friendship, 
and  dislike,  are  founded  in  this  peculiarity  of  our  nature.  It  is 
a  law  of  nature  to  work  by  opposite  forces.  Two  poles  of 
the  same  denomination,  repel  and  expand  ;  two  opposite  poles 
contract  and  attract.  Two  contiguous  keys  on  the  piano, 
harmonise  less,  than  two  divided  by  a  third.  The  attraction 
grows  out  of  the  relation  hetiveen  the  two,  when  one  possesses 
positiveh/,  what  is  possessed  by  the  other  negatively.  So, 
nature  has  provided  the  two  sexes  for  the  propagation  of  the 
different  species  of  living  bodies,  and,  it  will  be  found,  thai 
parents  of  the  same  susceptibilities,  have  the  least  issue,  and 
iheir  offspring,  if  they  have  any,  is  generally  short  lived. 

This  much  premised,  observe — 

1.  The  corp.espoxdexce  of  the  different  parts,  and 
the  general  sympathy   of   the   whole   body  with  the 

MIND. 

I  have,  already,  noticed  the  reciprocal  influence  of  the  body 
and  mind,  and  we  have  seen  the  effects  which  the  one  is 
known  to  produce  upon  the  other.  This  influence  is  shown 
in  the  features  and  form  of  the  body.  Hence,  in  the  face  of  a 
savage  we  see  a  savage  mind.  With  a  well  formed  head  we 
anticipate  understanding  and  strength  of  intellect.  A  low, 
thick  head,  selfishness  and  stupidity ;  a  small  head,  small  mind. 
A  large,  well  developed  body,  full  chest — muscular  strength. 
Round,  blunt  features,  obtuseness  of  mind  ;  sharp  features, 
hard  muscle,  correspond  with  quickness  of  temper,  speech, 
and  action. 

Persons  of  a  bilious  temperament,  will,  usually,  be  found 
with  large  firm.ness,  destructiveness,  and  combativeness. — 
They  may,  indeed,  have  large  pity,  kindness,  and  friendship, 
but  the  organs  first  named,  either  make  this  temperament, 
or  most  generally  accompany  it.  So,  we  find  persons  of  the 
sanguine  temperament,  with  large  hope ;  those  of  the  lym- 


40  PATHETISM. 

phatic;  with  industry,  firmness,  and  will,  moderate.  And, 
slight  observation  will  convince  us  that  in  every  case,  a  mark- 
ed correspondence  may  be  traced  throughout  the  mental  and 
physical  developments,  extending  to  the  face,  limbs  and  trunk 
of  the  body,  and  manifested  in  the  tones,  gestures,  and  gen- 
eral conduct. 

2.  There  are  sympathies  peculiar  to  different  parts 
OF  the  system,  depending  on  the  relation  which  one  part 
sustains  to  another. 

That  is,  the  part  that  is  said  to  suffer  by  sympathy,  is  af- 
fected by  its  relation  to  some  other  part,  in  which  the  cause 
of  the  difficulty  really  exists.  Thus,  titillation  of  the  fauces 
produces  vomiting.  In  this  case  the  stomach  is  not  touched, 
nor  affected,  only  by  sympathy.  The  same  means  applied  to 
the  nostrils  produces  motion  in  the  exspiratory  muscles  in  the 
act  of  sneezing.     The  sight  of  food,  excites  the  salivary  glands* 

A  slight  increase  of  action  in  the  stomach,  will  frequently/ 
diminish  the  action  of  the  brain,  and  increased  mental  activity 
will  decrease  the  action  of  the  stomach.  Injury  of  nerves,  just 
as  of  any  other  organs,  in  proportion  to  their  importance,  may 
affect  parts,  which  they  do  not  supply;  but  with  which  they 
are  connected ;  as  amaurosis,  and  even  cataract  may  follow 
wounds  of  the  nerves  belonging,  not  to  the  eye,  but  to  the 
lace;  and  convulsions  may  follow  wounds  of  the  acoustic 
nerve;  and  diseases  of  the  kidneys,  says  Dr.  EUiotson,  some- 
times produce  inflammation  in  the  corresponding  portions  of 
the  spinal  chord. 

Hence,  it  is  evident  that  the  effects  of  sympathy  do  not,  al- 
ways, appear  in  the  portions  of  the  system  which  are  mostly 
affected.  When  a  voluntary  muscle  is  made  to  contract,  the 
suffering  produced  by  sympathy,  would  seem  to  be  in  the 
nerves,  peculiar  to  this  agency,  connected  with  the  muscle, 
while  the  effects  are  shown  in  the  muscle.  And  hence,  Bichat 
found  that  sympathy  of  animal  contractibility  occurs  only 
when  the  nerves  connecting  the  affected  muscle  with  the 
brain,  or  spinal  chord,  were  entire.  For,  when  he  divided 
them,  the  convulsions  in  the  corresponding  muscle  ceased,  as 
the  pupil  of  the  eye  ceases  to  contract  when  the  third  pair 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  41 

have  beea  divided,  although  light  is  made  to  glare  upon  the 
optic  nerve.  It  should  be  borne  ia  mind,  however,  that  great 
uncertainty  must  necessarily  attend  deductions  made  from  re- 
sults produced  by  such  mutilations  of  the  living  body.  For, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things,  it  must  be  next  to  impossible  for 
us  ever  to  know  precisely,  when  the  parts  are  injured  in  this 
manner,  just  how  far  the  sufferings  of  one  organ  may  extend 
to  others,  in  different  parts  of  the  system. 

3.  Physical  SYMPAXHr  does  not  depend  upon  continu- 
ity OF  SURFACE,  OPw  THE  CONTIGUITY  OF  THE  PARTS  AFFECT- 
ED BY  IT. 

It  is  well  known,  that  vomiting  may  arise  from  a  blow  on 
the  head,  disgust,  sailing,  pregnancy,  or  a  stone  in  the  kid- 
ney. The  effects  of  the  blisters,  detailed  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  put  this  fact  beyond  all  doubt.  For,  what  connection 
could  be  traced  through  the  scalp  to  the  dura  mater  ?  And 
hence  it  must  follow,  that  if  the  laws  of  sympathy,  or  that 
■susceptibility  of  the  system  in  which  they  have  their  founda- 
tion, or  on  which  they  operate,  maybe  acted  on  or  controlled 
by  the  touch  of  the  human  hand,  we  may  see,  at  once,  how  it 
is,  that  the  states  of  the  system  may  be  changed  from  wake- 
fulness to  sleep,  and  vice  versa,  by  mere  manipulation. 

We  are,  certainly,  not  able  to  trace  any  nervous  connection 
between  the  organs  of  mirth,  and  the  muscles  of  the  mouth 
concerned  in  the  act  of  laughing.  And  yet,  who  doubts,  but 
that  the  act  of  laughing  is  produced  by  sympathy  with  the 
mental  organs  ?  And  so  of  the  organs  of  self  esteem,  and  sad- 
ness, or  grief  These,  and  many  others,  when  excited,  either 
naturally  or  artificially,  operate  upon  the  muscles  of  the  face 
by  sympathy ;  and  yet,  we  are  not  able  to  trace  any  nervous 
connection  between  the  organs,  and  the  portions  of  the  face, 
corresponding  in  which  these  emotions  are  shown,  when  the 
organs  are  excited.  In  the  last  stages  of  pulmonary  consump- 
tion, we  see  the  hectic  blush  in  a  particular  place  in  the  face, 
thus  demonstrating  that,  between  the  lungs  and  those  points 
in  the  face,  the  vital  forces  have  established  a  sympathetic 
connection,  as  if  to  give  notice  by  a  visible  sign  of  the  suffer- 
ing condition  of  the  lungs  within.     In  this  case  there  is  svm- 

Dl 


4-2  PATHETISiVI. 

palhy  without  any  continuity  of  surface,  or  any  direct  connec- 
tion by  the  motor  and  sensitive  nerves.  Hence  we  arrive  at 
the  lollowing  conclusions. 

4.  That  a  portion  of  the  nervous  substance,  inclu- 
ding, IT  MAY  BE,  THE  GANGLIONIC  SYSTEM,  IS  DEVOTED,  EX- 
CLUSIVELY,   TO   SY3IPATHETIC   FUNCTIONS. 

It  would  transcend  ray  limits  to  enter  upon  an  examination 
of  the  physiology  of  the  nervous  system  in  all  its  parts,  I 
must  therefore  content  myself  with  a  mere  statement  of  those 
conclusions  which  are  legitimately  authorised  by  the  few  an- 
atomical examinations,  and  pathological  observations,  which 
seem  to  be  directly  connected  with  this  view  of  the  subject. 

(1.)  The  nerves  oi^  sensation  and  motion  cannot,  in  all  ca- 
ses, convey  sympathy,  because,  we  know  that  sympathy  does 
often  occur  independently  of  sensation  or  motion.  Nor  is  this 
all ;  some  sympathising  parts  have  no  susceptibility  at  all.  It 
may  be  objected  that  all  vascular  parts  acquire  sensibility  un- 
der inflammation.  But  in  saying  this,  the  objector  overlooks 
the  fact,  that  there  is  no  inflammation  without  sijmpathy.  In- 
flammation is,  in  all  cases,  the  eff'ecls  of  sympathetic  laws. 

These  sympathetic  or  antipathetic  influences  are  what  Dr. 
M.  Hall  and  others  have  denominated  the  "morbid  and  re- 
■flex  actions  of  the  spinal  marrow."  This  distinguished  anat- 
omist, by  a  long  series  of  experiments  and  observations,  thinks 
he  has  proved,  that  these  "  inflex  actions  do  not  depend  upon 
sensation  or  volition,  but  upon  some  other  principle  of  the  an- 
imal economy  ;  the  only  known  principle  which  remained, 
and  which  could  be  the  probable  agent  in  these  actions,  was 
the  vis  nervosa.''^  The  following  are  his  conclusions.  The 
term  sympathetic,  or  antipathetic  action,  might  be  substituted 
for  the  term  "  inflex,"  in  these  conclusions,  and  the  idea  would 
be  as  well,  and  perhaps  better  expressed  : 

1.  It  is  proved  by  the  series  of  facts  which  have  been  ob- 
served in  the  human  subject,  that  the  excito-motory  reflex  ac- 
tions are  independent  of  sensation  and  volition,  however  they 
may  be  accompanied  by  sensation,  or  influenced  by  volition, 
in  the  perfect  animal. 

2.  It  is  proved  as  a  consequence,  that  the  reflex  actions  are 
dependent  on  another  principle  of  the  nervous  system  ;  and  it 


SVMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  43 

is  proved  by  a  series  of  experiments,  that  this  principle  is  the 
vis  nervosa  of  Haller,  acting  according  to  a  new  reflex  law. 

3.  The  phenomena  of  the  excito-motory  reflex  actions  are 
obvious  in  cases  of  paralysis,  in  proportion  as  that  paralysis 
is  more  complete;  they  are  therefore,  more  observable  in  par- 
aplegia, than  in  hemplegia,  in  general,  but  in  each  of  these 
according  to  their  intensity  ;  they  are  therefore  not  only  inde- 
pendent of  sensation  and  volition,  but  inversely  as  these,  fre- 
quently disappearing  as  these  return. 

4.  In  accidents,  as  in  experiments,  the  excited  reflex  ac- 
tions are  not  immediately  observed,  but  are  manifested  only 
after  the  lapse  of  certain  intervals  of  time;  it  is  plain,  there- 
fore, that  the  first  influence  of  the  shock  is  to  diminish  the  ex- 
cito-motory power ;  and  this  may  remain  until  the  patient  falls 
a  prey  to  the  accident;  as  in  the  case  noticed  in  Dr.  W. 
Budd's  paper. 

5.  It  is  observed  that  at  a  subsequent  period,  in  more  fa- 
vorable ca.ses,  the  excito-motory  power  is  not  only  restored  to 
its  normal  condition,  but  morbidly  augmented. 

6.  This  is  especially  observed  in  certain  diseases,  as  teta- 
nus, the  efl'ects  of  strychnine,  &:c. 

7.  The  reflex  arcs  of  the  nervous  system  will  be  imperfect 
in  cases  of  disease  or  injury  of  the  lumbar  or  other  regions,  as 
in  the  case  noticed  in  Dr.  W.  Budd's  paper,  and  the  reflex  ac- 
tions will  consequently  be  absent;  a  fact  which  aff'ords  in  its 
turn  an  important  source  of  diagnosis,  as  to  the  seat  of  the 
disease. 

8.  In  certain  cerebral  affections  attended  by  coma,  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  reflex  actions,  in  the  eyelids  especially, 
gives  us  an  index  of  the  degree  of  severity  of  disease. 

9.  Certain  diseases,  as  hydrophobia,  epilepsy,  hysteria,  and 
certain  remedies,  as  strychnine,  cantharides,  &c.,  not  only  in- 
duce augmented  excitability,  but  manifest  their  efl'ects  pre- 
cisely upon  the  organs  which  are,  physiologically,  under  the 
influence  and  dominion  of  the  excito-motory  power. 

10.  There  are  new  forms  of  disease  of  the  true  spinal  func- 
tions, not  hitherto  described;  such  as  the  disphagia,  the  pecu- 
culiar  action  of  the  rectum,  &c.  which  have  been  briefly  no- 
ticed. 

11.  Certain  parts,  as  the  sides  of  the  thorax,  the  soles  of 
the  feet,  &c.,  are  more  susceptible  of  the  excitement  in  ques- 
tion than  others. 

12.  Dr.  W.  Budd  has  very  justly  observed,  that  in  many 
cases  of  violent  reflex  and  even  convulsive  actions,  there  was 
no  sense  of  fatigue,  and  little  emaciation  of  the  muscles.  In 
fact,  fatigue  is  a  cerebral  stale,  and  cannot  be  expected  to  oc- 
cur in  the  cases  in  which  the  reflex  actions  are  most  observ- 


44  PATHETISM. 


ed  ;  and  emaciation  is  most  obvious  in  spinal  paralysis,  it! 
which  the  reflex  arcs  being  interrupted,  the  reflex  actions  are 
also  precluded  from  taking  place.  Fatigue  \i=  fdt  severely  af- 
ter violent  attacks  of  epilepsy  and  other  spasmodic  diseases, 
in  which  the  cerebral  functions  are  afterwards  restored. — 
Med.  Chir.  Rev.  Jan.  1S41. 

The  reader  will  readily  perceive,  how  exactly  the  foregoing 
conclusions  agree  with  the  sympathetic  phenomena,  peculiar 
to  the  results  produced  by  pathetism. 

Nor  can  I  see  why  these  laws  should  not  satisfactorily  ac- 
count for  the  following  fact,  stated  in  Dupuytren's  lectures, 
where  he  says : 

"  It  is  oi  almost  constant  occurrence,  that  diseases  of  the  up- 
per part  of  the  thigh  are  felt,  so  to  speak,  at  the  knee ;  and 
also,  that  those  of  the  upper  part  of  the  humerus  are  felt  at 
the  elbow. 

"It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  that  in  certain  individuals 
after  lithotomy,  or  other  great  operations,  an  abscess  is  apt  to 
be  formed  in  the  calf  of  the  leg.  We  cannot  form  any  idea 
how  this  should  be,  but  so  it  is. 

"  Generally,  in  affections  of  the  brain,  the  effects  of  purga- 
tives on  the  bowels,  are  much  less  powerful  than  usual;  for 
example,  five  or  six  grains  of  tartar  emetic,  and  several  oun- 
ces of  Epsom  salts,  will  not  often  produce  either  vomiting  or 
purging.  In  these  cases,  the  oleagenous  purgatives,  such  as 
castor  or  croton  oil,  succeed  best. 

"  Extensive  and  severe  burns  are  almost  always  followed  by- 
constipation." 

(2.)  There  is  no  sensation  independently  of  the  brain.*  But 
sympathies  may,  and  do  exist,  independently  of  that  organ.— 
Various  portions  of  the  system  may  be  made  to  sympathise 
with  the  influence  of  pathetism,  when  the  brain  is  not  affect, 
ed  at  all;  and  we  have  seen,  that  foetuses  have  been  born 
alive  without  any  brain.  Communications  of  nerves  exist 
without  any  connection  with  the  brain.  And  if  the  phenom- 
ena, common  to  a  state  of  sympathy,  be  admitted,  no  fact 
could  be  more  clearly  demonstrated,  than  \hdX  sympathy  may, 
and  does  exist  independently  of  sensation,  and  sometimes  in- 
dependently of  the  brain.     I  have  seen  hundreds  of  cases, 

*  Or  without  the  medulla  oblongata. 


SYMPATHY    AND    A^'TIPATHY.  45 

where  sympathy  has  been  manifested  in  the  liighest  degrees, 
when  at  the  same  time,  there  was  no  evidence  of  sensation 
whatever. 

We  have  also  seen  that  disease  has  been  cured  by  sympa- 
thy ;  that  is,  cures  of  a  most  extraordinary  kind  have  been  ef- 
fected, which  could  not  be  traced  to  any  other  known  laws. — 
And,  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  cause  of  disease.  Every 
physician  knows,  not  only  that  every  part  of  the  system  may 
suffer  from  sympathy,  but  that  diseases  are  sometimes  caused 
by  this  agency,  alone.  For  a  few  specimens  of  this  kind,  see 
the  American  Journal  of  Medical  Science  for  October,  1841, 
in  which  a  number  of  cases  are  stated  by  Dr.  Zabriskie,  dem- 
onstrating the  existence  of  "  sympathetic  paralyses.''''  Six  ca- 
ses are  enumerated,  at  length,  and  from  them,  the  Dr.  gives 
the  following  reasons  for  believing  that  paralysis  was  sympa- 
thetic of  enteritis,  when  the  encephalo-spinal  system  was  not 
affected  at  all : — 

"1.  The  inflammation  always  precedes  the  paralysis,  and 
often  for  some  lime. 

"  This  took  place  in  Dr.  Waddel's  case  and  in  all  the  cases  of 
Mr.  Abernethy,  and  in  all  the  cases  observed  by  myself. 

"  2.  From  the  absence  of  all  morbid  appearances  on  dis- 
section, the  nervous  apparatus  appearing  sound. 

"  3.  From  the  inability  of  all  remedies  applied  to  the  spine, 
to  the  brain,  or  to  the  general  nervous  system. 

"  5.  The  remedies  which  gave  the  most  relief,  were  those 
which  relieved  the  inflammatory  systems." 

Cases  in  support  of  the  above  conclusions  might  be  quoted 
in  great  numbers,  if  it  were  at  all  necessary. 

(3.)  All  that  is  known  of  the  anatomy  and  functions  of  the 
ganglia,  confirms  the  assumption  as  to  their  exclusive  sympath- 
etic functions.  That  communications  are  made  from  different 
parts  of  the  system,  without  particular  reference  to  the  ence- 
phalo-spinal mass,  is  as  certain,  as  that  the  mind  takes  no 
cognizance  of  the  processes  constantly  going  on  in  the  animal 
economy,  and  there  can  be  no  room  for  doubt,  but  these  im- 
perceptible sympathetic  influences  are  carried  on  by  the  gang- 
lionic nerves ;  which  may  serve  as  so  many  little  brains,  as 
it  were,  distributed  throughout  the  system  for  the  receptiou 


46  PATHETISM. 

and  transmission  of  sympathetic  influences,  the  same  as  the 
enccphalon,  receives  impressions  from  the  nerves  of  sensation, 
and  transmits,  perliaps,  ihrougli  this  medium,  the  motive  pow- 
er to  the  different  parts  of  the  system. 

The  vital  functions  depend  much  more  upon  the  ganglionic 
system,  than  upon  the  brain  or  spinal  nerves.  Foetuses  have 
been  born  without  any  brain  or  spinal  chord ;  but  in  these  cases, 
the  ganglions  were  perfectly  developed.  Lobstein  relates  the 
cases  of  six  foetuses  born  with  absent  brain,  and  other  organs, 
in  each  of  which  the  ganglionic  system  was  perfect,  and  even 
unusually  large.*  And  Dr.  Cayre  relates  the  cases  of  nine 
idiots  dissected  by  him,  in  which  the  encephalo-spinal  sys- 
tem was  wasted  or  diseased,  while  the  ganglionic  was  per- 
fectly healthy.  From  these  facts,  it  follows,  as  will  more  ful- 
ly appear  hereafter,  that  breathing,  and,  in  fact,  all  the  animal 
functions,  have  been  carried  on  without  a  brain,  but  never,  so 
far  as  is  known,  without  the  ganglionic  nerves.  The  func- 
tions of  the  heart  have  never  been  performed  without  its  gang- 
lia, so  that  the  cardiac  ganglia,  as  the  heart  is  the  first  or- 
gan that  comes  into  action,  is  the  first  process  towards  the 
formation  of  a  nervous  system.  But  this  assumption  would 
seem  to  be  more  fully  confirmed  by  a  recent  discovery  made 
by  Dr.  Remak,  of  Berlin,  who  has  elicited  the  following 
facts : 

''The  nervous  substance  is  contained  in  tubes.  The 
tubes  enclosing  the  medullary  matter  of  the  sensitive  nerves  are 
exceedingly  thin  and  transparent,  while  those  surrounding  the 
substance  of  the  motor  nerves  are  much  more  resisting  and 
dense;  to  which  latter  condition  the  greater  whiteness  and 
opacity  uf  those  nerves  appears  to  be  owing.  It  is  well  known, 
that  nervous  filaments  from  the  cerebro-spinal  system  go  to 
join  the  ganglia  of  the  sympathetic  system ;  but  according  to 
the  researches  of  Dr.  Raraak,  they  only  traverse  the  ganglia 
without  forming,  with  them,  any  more  intimate  connection, 
as  was  formerly  supposed.  The  nervous  matter  of  the  sym- 
pathetic system  is  distinguished  by  its  peculiar  reddish  tint,  but 
the  nerves  given  off  by  the  sympathetic  ganglia,  carry  both 
reddish  and  white  (cerebro-spinal)  matter;  the  latter,  howev- 
er, exists  in  the  least  quantity  in  the  nerves  going  to  the  or- 
gans removed  from  the  agency  of  the  will,  as  the  liver,  spleen, 
&:c.     But,    in  nearly   every    bundle   of  nervous   matter,    it 

*  London  Lancet  for  Nov.  19,  1842. 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  47 

would  seem,  ihai  motor,  sensitive,  and  sijmpathetic  filaments 
are  present.  Two  kinds  of  functions  are  well  established  to 
belong  to  the  cerebro-spinal  nervous  system,  a  perception  of 
sensation  and  a  motive  power ;  and  Dr.  Remak  supposes  a  dou- 
ble functioji  of  a  similar  kind  to  belong  to  the  sympathetic  sys- 
tem, thus  rendering  necessary  the  existence  of  a  double  se?i- 
sorium  commune,  in  the  same  living  being,  one  of  organic  or 
vegetative,  and  the  other  of  (so  called)  animal  life."* 

Here,  then,  we  find  the  foundation  oi  xhose  susceptihilitiesy 
described  in  a  preceding  chapter.  The  ganglia  and  sympa- 
thetic nerves, form  the  union  heticeen  ?nind  and  matter.  They 
constitute  the  medium  through  which  the  mind  operates,  both 
upo7i  its  own  organs,  and  upon  the  mind,  or  organs  of  others  ; 
and  also,  by  which  one  part  of  the  same  system,  influences, 
sympathetically,  another  part.  They  are  the  connecting  link 
between  the  mind  and  the  nerves  of  motion  and  sensation, 
and  through  which  the  fmictions  of  all  the  other  nerves  may 
be  controlled,  or  suspended,  or  transposed  from  one  organ  to 
another,  in  the  same  body,  or  transferred  from  one  system  to 
another,  as  in  somnipathy  and  the  phenomena  common  to  that 
f?tate. 

5.    Two  SEPARATE    LIVING    BODIES  ARE  SO^IETBIES    GOVERNED 
EY    THE    SA:ME    SYMPATHETIC    LAWS. 

Manj' cases  are  on  record,  of  two  persons,  having  such  an 
identity  of  life,  that  the  health  of  both,  and  indeed,  their  men- 
tal exercises,  have  been  affected  in  precisely  the  same  way, 
even  when  they  were  not  in  the  same  place.  A  reputable 
physician  of  this  city  informs  me  that  he  is  well  acquainted 
Avith  two  twin  sisters,  who  were  affected  in  this  way.  One 
was  always  sick  precisely  at  the  same  time  with  the  other, 
though  some  tw^enty  miles  apart.  One  was  married ;  and 
having  arrived  at  the  full  period  of  gestation  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  other,  the  single  sister,  was  taken  with  slight  la- 
bor pains,  at  the  very  time  they  commenced  with  the  other 
sister.  The  following  case  was  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Medicine,  by  M.  Cagentre,  in  1824. 

"  Twin  brothers  were  affected,  precisely  alike,  for  a  number 
of  years.     Whatever  indisposition  one  suffered,  was  suffered 

*  De  Nervo  Sympathetico,  p.  25. 


48  PATHETISM. 

by  the  olhcr  at  the  same  time.  Derangement  of  the  alimentary 
canal,  intestinal  worms,  kc,  always  made  iheir  appearance,  in 
both,  exactly  at  one  and  the  same  moment,  and  the  symptoms 
in  both  were  of  equal  intensity.  Dr.  Nourel  carefully  watched 
them,  after  their  return  from  a  fifteen  montii's  slay  in  the  coun- 
ry,  and  verilied  the  observations  of  the  nurses.  He  found  that 
quotidian  intermittent  fever  commenced  and  terminated  on 
I  he  same  day  in  both  ;  both  had  acute  conjunctivities  together, 
and  also  colic,  which  lasted  in  each  for  twenty-four  hours. — 
Two  molar  teeth  made  their  appearance  in  each,  at  the  same 
time.  These  things  took  place  in  1831.  In  1832  they  had 
different  eruptions,  but  both  suffered  contemporaneously.  In 
the  winter  both  had  bronchitis  together.  In  1S33,  they  w^ere 
attacked  with  measles,  and  after  these,  with  scarlet  fever;  in 
these  diseases  each  lAvin  had  symptoms  precisely  similar  to 
the  other,  and  the  commencement  and  termination,  in  both, 
were  at  precisely  the  same  period.  In  1834  they  had  ear 
ache  and  intermitting  fever  together;  and  also  vesicular  erup- 
tion on  the  back  of  the  neck.  But  their  dispositions  were  en- 
tirely opposite;  one  was  thin  and  lively,  the  other  robust  and 
indolent." 

It  is  an  old  observation,  that  two  persons  are  often  known 
to  have  similar  affections,  at  the  same  time,  or  where  the 
sympathy  is  said  to  be  so  strong  between  them,  that  the  sick- 
ness of  one  necessarily  affects  the  other.  But  in  the  above 
remarkable  case,  it  will  be  seen,  the  affection  of  one  was  not 
caused  by  sympathy  with  the  other,  but,  the  same  cause  op- 
erated on  both,  precisely  alike,  at  one  and  the  same  time, 
through  a  number  of  years.* 

*  The  sam3  sympathetic  laws  are  supposed  to  govern  animals.  The 
charm  of  serpents  has  been  proverbial  from  immemorial  time.  A 
case  in  illustration  of  this  law,  is  given  in  the  New  York  Sun,  for  April 

6, 1843. 

Some  years  since,  a  gentleman,  by  the  name  of  A.  W.  was  travelling 
in  Mississippi,  and  found  in  the  road  side  a  rattle-snakc.  The  road 
was  narrow,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  that  the  snake  was  on  the  right 

Kand.    Mr.  W dismounted,  and  procured  a  stick  to  kill  the  snake, 

struck  it  a  blow,  so  as  to  disable  it,  and  to  his  aslonis^hment,  heard  a 
partridge  flutter  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  road  at  the  instant  the  blow 
was  inflicted  on  the  snake.  The  partridge  w^as  eight  or  ten  feet  from 
the  snake,  and  he  immediately  went  to  it  and  picked  it  up,  intending  to 
secure  it  first  and  then  despatch  the  serpent.  He  recollected, however, 
liaving  heard  that  the  charm  of  the  bird  was  communicable,  by  contact 
with  it  to  any  other  living  animal,  and  deposited  it  in  the  place  whenco 
he  had  taken  it,  and  resumed  his  '  labors  of  love'  on  the  '  charmer.'  To 
his  great  astonishment,  he  observed  that  every  blow  on  the  snake, 
seemed  to  tell  on  the  partridge,  which  fluttered  at  every  one  :  and  as 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  49 

Facts  ia  abundance  are  at  command,  fronn  which  it  •would 
seem,  that  the  same  laws  sometimes  operate  upon  two  differ- 
ent minds,  even  when  at  a  great  distance  apart.  A  case  of 
this  kind  is  given  by  Dr.  Abercrorabie,  where  a  mother  and 
her  son,  a  hundred  miles  apart,  had  precisely  the  same  dream, 
at  the  same  hour  of  the  same  night.  The  son  was  the  Rev. 
J.  Wilkins,  dissenting  minister  at  Weymouth,  England,  and 
the  particulars  of  his  dream  are  thus  staled  by  himself: 

"  One  night,  soon  after  I  was  in  bed,  [  fell  asleep,  and 
breamed  I  was  going  to  London.  I  thought  it  would  not  be 
much  out  of  my  v^ray  to  go  through  Gloucestershire,  and  call 
upon  my  friends  there.  Accordingly  I  set  out,  but  remem- 
bered nothing  that  iiappened  on  the  way,  tilf  1  came  to  my 
father's  house,  when  I  went  to  the  front  door,  and  tried  to 
open  it,  but  found  it  fast.  I  then  went  to  ihe  back  door, 
which  I  opened,  and  went  in ;  but  finding  all  the  family  were 
in  bed,  I  went  across  the  rooms  only,  went  up  stairs,  and  en- 
tered the  chamber  where  my  father  and  mother  were  in  bed. 
As  I  went  that  side  of  the  bed  in  which  my  father  lay,  I  found 
him  asleep,  or  thought  he  was  so;  then  I  went  to  the  other 
iside,  and  just  turned  the  foot  of  the  bed.  I  found  my  mother 
awake,  to  whom  I  said  ;hese  words,  'Mother,  I  am  going  a 
lon^  journey,  and  I  am  come  to  bid  you  good  bye.'  Upon 
which  she  answered  me  in  a  fright,  'O  dear  son,  thou  art 
dead  !'  With  this  I  awoke,  and  took  no  notice  of  it,  more 
than  a  common  dream,  only  it  appeared  to  me  very  perfect, 
as  some  dreams  will.  But  in  a  few  days  after,  as  soon  as  a 
letter  could  reach  me,  I  received  one  by  post  from  my  father, 
upon  the  receipt  of  which  I  was  a  little  surprised,  and  con- 
cluded something  extraordinary  must  have  happened,  as  it 

the  work  of  deaih  progressed  with  tlie  snake,  i'  seemed  to  proceed ^art 
passu  with  the  bird.  When  the  snake  writhed,  the  bird  fluttered,  and 
when  the  snake  was  dead,  the  bird  absolutely  fell  on  its  side,  made 
sundry  gapes  and  expired. 

The  following  is  from  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger: — A  gentlc- 
manof  great  respectability  in  St.  Croix,  showed  me  a  hen's  egg  which 
has  on  it,  in  relief,  the  figtire  of  a  goose.  The  annexed  is  a  sketcli  of 
the  figure,  taken  in  my  presence,  and  the  following  is  his  account  of  the 
case  : 

The  circumstances  connected  with  this  phenomenon  may  not  be  un- 
worthy of  notice.  There  was  only  one  fine  wliite  goose  on  the  place, 
which  constantly  associated  with  the  other  lowls  oi"  the  yard.  Having 
no  other  companion,  he  frequently  seated  himself  in  the  yard,  among 
the  rest  of  the  fowls,  precisely  in  the  posture  of  the  figure  in  the  egg, 
which  egg  was  laid  by  one  of  the  hens  constantly  in  company  with  the 
goose.  The  feathers  on  the  body  of  the  goose  were  in  rather  a  roue)! 
state,  but  the  neck  was  covered  with  down  an.l  no  leathers. 
E 


50  rATHETISN. 

was  but  a  little  before  I  had  a  letter  from  my  friends,  and  all 
were  well.  Upon  opening  it,  I  v/as  more  surprised  still,  for 
my  father  addressed  me  as  though  I  was  dead,  desiring  me, 
if  alive,  to  write  immediately ;  but  if  the  letter  should  find 
mc  living,  they  concluded  I  should  not  live  long,  and  gave 
this  as  tiie  reason  of  their  fears: — That  on  such  a  night,  nam- 
ing it,  after  they  were  in  bed,  my  father  asleep,  and  my 
mother  awake,  she  heard  some  one  try  to  open  the  frontdoor; 
but  finding  it  fost,  he  went  to  the  back  door,  which  he  open- 
ed, came  in,  and  came  directly  through  the  rooms  up  stairs, 
find  she  jjcrfectly  knew  it  to  be  my  step.  I  came  to  her  bed- 
side, and  spoke  to  her  these  words,  '  Mother,  I  am  going  a 
long  journey,  and  am  come  to  bid  you  good-bye;  upon  which 
she  answered  me  in  a  fright,  '0  dear  son,  thou  art  dead  I' 
which  were  the  very  words  and  circumstances  of  my  dream  ; 
but  she  heard  nothing  more,  and  saw  nothing;  neither  did  I. 
in  my  dream,  as  it  was  quite  dark.  Upon  this  she  awoke 
my  father,  and  told  him  what  had  passed  ;  but  he  endeavour- 
ed to  appease  her,  by  persuading  her  it  was  only  a  dream; 
she  insisted  it  was  no  dream,  for  that  she  was  as  perfectly 
awake  as  ever  she  was,  and  had  not  the  least  inclination  to 
sleep  since  she  had  been  in  bed.  From  these  circumstances 
I  am  apt  to  think  it  was  the  very  same  instant  when  my 
dream  happened,  though  the  distance  between  us  was  a  hun- 
dred miles;  but  of  this  I  cannot  speak  positively.  This  oc- 
curred whilst  I  was  at  the  academy  at  Ottery,  Devon,  in  the 
year  1754,  and  at  this  distance  of  time  it  is  still  fresh  upon 
my  mind.  I  have  since  had  frequent  opportunities  of  talking 
over  the  affair  with  my  mother,  and  the  whole  was  as  fresh 
upon  her  mind  as  it  was  upon  mine.  I  have  often  thought 
that  her  sensations  as  to  this  matter  were  stronger  than  mine. 
What  some  may  think  strange,  I  cannot  remember  that  any 
thing  remarkable  happened  hereupon.  This  is  only  a  plain 
simple  narrative  of  a  matter  of  fact." 

Almost  any  person,  indeed,  would  be  very  apt  to  suspect, 
that  a  dream  so  very  remarkable  as  this  seemed  to  be,  was  a 
prognostication  of  something  extraordinary,  but  the  sequel 
proved,  that  nothing  out  of  the  common  course  of  events  hap- 
pened to  either  of  the  parties;  for  Mr.  Wilkins  lived  nearly 
fifty  years  afterwards,  and  died  a  natural  death. 

4.  What  we  know  of  sympathy  and  antipathy  is  re- 
solvable INTO  the  laws  which  AFFECT  BOTH  THE  BODY  AND 
TIIE  MIND,  AND  ITS  INFLUENCE  MAY  BE  EXTENDED  FROM  ONE 
i'ERSON   TO    ANOTHER. 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  51 

Every  Phrenologist  knows,  that  the  exercise  of  one  organ 
by  one  person,  will  excite  the  same  organ  in  another.  Thus, 
for  instance,  combativcness  will  excite  combativencss,  mirth- 
fulneos  will  excite  mirthfulness,  and  so  of  the  other  organs. 
This  is  according  to  a  law  of  the  human  mind  which  explains 
the  aptitude  of  minds,  in  society,  to  assume  a  common  train 
of  thought  or  feeling,  grave  or  gay,  as  if  by  contagion. 

We  could  not,  of  course,  find  room  for  any  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  facts  there  are  at  command,  elucidating  this  part 
of  our  subject,  but  the  following,  it  is  believed,  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  bring  it  sufficiently  before  the  mind  of  the  reader: 

'•In  a  poor  house  at  Harlem,  under  the  inspection  of  the 
learned  Dr.  Boerhaave,  a  girl,  under  an  impression' of  terror, 
fell  into  a  convulsive  disease,  which  returned  in  regular  par- 
oxysms. An  interested  by-stander  witnessing  her,  was  seized 
wi'th  a  similar  fit,  which  "also  recurred  at  intervals.  On  the 
day  following,  another  was  attacked;  then  a  third,  and  a 
fourth;  and  finallv,  nearly  the  v.^hole  of  the  children,  both 
girls  and  boys,  came  to  be  affected  in  the  same  manner. — 
No  sooner  was  one  seized  than  the  paroxysms  pervaded  near- 
ly all  the  company."  , 

Here  were  the  effects  of  sympathy;  but  the  remedy,  per- 
haps, would  be  denominated  antipathy. 

The  account  proceeds: 

"Every  remedy  was  prescribed  by  attending  physicians 
which  their  skill  "could  suggest,  but  all  in  vain.  They  then 
applied  to  Dr.  Boerhaave  to  come  and  examine  the  nature  of 
this  complaint,  and  to  prescribe  a  remedy  if  possible.  The 
learned  doctor  immf-diately  observed  that  the  disease  was 
communicated  from  one  to  another  by  sight ;  and  he  inferred 
that  it  was  the  effect  of  the  imagination  solely,  and  that  he 
must  apply  his  means  to  the  minds  of  ihese  children,  rather 
than  to  their  bodies.  He  resolved,  therefore,  on  the  experi- 
ment of  diverting  their  minds  from  those  paroxysms  by  ren- 
dering a  fit  extremely  hazardous.  Having  apprised  the  ma- 
gistraie  of  his  design,  he  ordered  in  presence  of  all  the  chil- 
dren, that  several  portable  furnaces  should  be  placed  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  chamber,  containing  burning  coals,  and  that 
irons,  bent  to  a  certain  form,  should*  be  placed  in  the  fur- 
naces. He  then  jrave  these  further  commands : — that  all  me- 
dicine would  be  entirely  useless,  and  the  only  remedy  with 
which  he  was  acquainted  was,  that  the  first  which  should  be 
seized  with  a  fit,  whether  boy  or  girl,  must  be  burnt  in  the 


52  PATHETISM. 

arm,  to  the  very  bone,  by  a  red-hot  iron.  He  spoke  this  willit 
uncommon  dignity  and  gravity,  and  it  was  completely  suc- 
cessful. The  idea  of  burning  in  case  of  a  fit,  was  enough  la 
enable  them  to  counteract  the  tendency  of  their  minds  to  fits, 
or  these  spasmodic  atfections,  and  the  complaint  occurred  not 
again."     Rees^  Cyc.  vol.  19,  part  2,  Art,  Imitation. 

Most  of  our  readers  liave,  probably,  heard,  or  read,  of  the 
strange  occurrences  which  took  place  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, some  forty  years  ago,  during  what  was  denominated 
the  Great  Revival  there.  A  particular  account  of  them  is 
given  in  Lorenzo  Dow's  Journal,  and  in  the  £d.  Med.  and 
Surg.  Jour.  voL3.  p.  4AG;  and  also  by  many  others,  which 
may  be  seen  quoted  in  Powers'  "  Essay  on  the  Influence  of  the 
Imagination  over  the  Nervous  System."  The  following  ac- 
count is  from  Dr.  F.  Kobinson,  of  Tenn. : 

"The  churches  in  those  states,  at  that  period  (1800),  were 
small  and  uncomfortable,  and  the  people  from  necessity  as- 
sembled in  the  open  field  at  extraordinary  meetings.  These 
meetings  lasted  from  three  to  five  days.  They  remained  up- 
on the  spot  day  and  night,  and  worshipped  their  Maker  inces- 
santly. The  outward  expression  of  their  worship  consisted 
chiefly  in  alternate  crying,  laughing,  singing  and  shouting; 
and  at  the  same  time,  performing  that  great  variety  of  gestic- 
ulation, which  the  muscular  system  is  capable  of  producing. 
It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  some  found  themselves 
unable,  by  voluntary  efforts,  to  suppress  the  contraction  of 
their  muscles;  and  to  their  own  astonishment,  and  the  diver- 
sion of  many  of  the  spectators,  they  continued  to  act  from  ne- 
cessity, the  curious  character  which  they  had  commenced 
from  choice.  The  disease  no  sooner  appeared,  than  it  spread 
with  rapidity  through  the  medium  of  imitation.  Thus  it  was 
not  uncommon,  for  an  affected  person  to  communicate  it  to  a 
greater  part  ofa  crowd,  who  from  curiosity  or  other  motives, 
had  collected  around  him.  It  attacks  both  sexes,  and  every 
constitution;  but  evidently,  more  readily  those  who  are  en- 
thusiasts in  religion.  The  contractions  are  sudden  and  vio- 
lent, such  as  are  denominated  convulsive;  being  sometimes 
so  powerful,  when  in  the  muscles  of  the  back,  that  the  pa- 
tient is  thrown  on  the  ground,  where  for  some  time,  his  mo- 
tions more  resemble  those  of  a  live  fish,  when  thrown  on  land, 
than  any  thing  else  to  which  I  can  compare  them.  During 
the  intermission,  a  paroxysm  is  often  excited  at  the  sight  of  a 
person  affected,  but  more  frequently  by  the  common  salute  of 
shaking  hands.  The  sensations  of  the  patient  in  a  paroxysm 
are  generally  agreeable,  which  the  enthusiastic  class  often  en- 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  53 

deavor  to  express  by  laughing,  shouting,  dancing,  &c.  Fa- 
tigue is  almost  always  complained  of  after  violent  paroxysms  ; 
and  sometimes  a  general  soreness  is  experienced.  It  has  not 
proved  mortal  in  a  single  instance  within  my  knowledge,  but 
becomes  lighter  by  degrees,  and  finally  disappears."  The 
author  adds  by  a  subjoined  note, — "  some  who  took  the  dis- 
ease in  1803,  have  not  yet  (1S05)  entirely  got  rid  of  it;  but 
these  instances  of  its  long  continuance,  are  very  few." 

These  convulsions  were  commonly  called  "  the  jerks." — 
Another  writer  (McXeraan),  quoted  by  Mr.  Powers,  gives  the 
following  account  of  them : 

"  At  first  appearance,  these  meetings  exhibited  nothing  to 
the  spectator,  but  a  scene  of  confusion,  that  could  scarcely  be 
put  into  human  language.  They  were  generally  opened  with 
a  sermon;  near  the  close  of  which,  there  would  be  an  unusual 
outcry;  some  bursiing  forth  into  loud  ejaculations  of  prayer  or 
thanksgiving  for  the  truth;  ethers  flying  to  their  careless 
friendsrv/itli  tears  of  compassion,  beseeching  them  to  turn  to 
the  Lord.  Some,  struck  with  terror,  and  hastening  through 
the  crowd  to  make  their  escape,  or  pulling  away  their  rela- 
tions;—others  trembling,  weeping,  and  crying  out  for  the 
Lord  Jesus  to  have  mercy  upon  them,  fainting  and  swooning 
away,  till  every  appearance  of  life  was  gone,  and  the  cxtrem- 
ities'of  the  body  assumed  the  coldness  of  a  dead  corpse.  Oth- 
ers surrounding  them  with  melodious  songs,  or  fervent  prayers 
for  iheir  happy  resurrection  in  the  love  of  Christ. 

"  The  rolling  exercise  consisted  in  being  cast  down  in  a 
violent  manner^doubled  with  the  head  and  feet  together,  and 
rolled  over  and  over  like  a  wheel,  or  stretched  in  a  prostrate 
manner  turned  swiftly  over  like  a  dog.  They  Avere  some- 
times driven  in  this  manner  through  the  mud,  and  were  sul- 
lied from  head  to  foot.  JNothing  in  nature  could  belter  rep- 
resent ihe  jerks,  than  for  one  to  goad  an'other  alternately  on 
every  side  with  a  piece  of  red  hot  iron.  The  exercise  com- 
monly began  in  the  head,  which  would  fly  backward  and  for- 
ward', and  from  side  to  side,  with  a  quick  jolt,  which  the  per- 
son would  naturally  labor  to  suppress,  but  in  vain.  He  must 
necessarily  go  as  he  was  stimulated,  whether  with  a  violent 
dash  on  the  ground,  and  bounce  from  place  to  place  like  a 
foot-ball,  or  hop  round,  with  head,  limbs  and  trunk  twitching 
and  jolting  in  every  direciion,  as  if  ihey  must  inevitably  fly 
asunder.  °Sometinies  the  head  would  be  twitched  right  and 
left,  to  a  half  round,  wnth  such  velocity,  that  not  a  feature 
could  be  discovered,  but  the  face  appear  as  much  behind  as 
before.  Head-dresses  w^ere  of  little  account  among  the  fe- 
male ierkers.  Even  handkerchiefs  bound  tight  round  the 
El 


5'1  PATIIETISM. 

head,  would  be  flirted  off  almost  with  the  first  twitch,  and 
the  hair  put  into  the  utmost  confusion  ;  this  was  a  great  in- 
convenience, to  redress  whicii,  the  generality  were  shorn, 
though  directly  contrary  to  their  confession  of  laith.  The 
^arA? consisted  in  being  compelled  to  imitate  the  canine  ani- 
mal ;  and  persons  thus  affected  moved  about  on  all  fours, 
growling  and  snapping  the  teeth,  and  barking  in  so  persona- 
ting a  manner,  as  to  set  the  eyes  and  the  ears  of  the  specta-  ^ 
tor  at  variance.  These  persons,  however,  were  the  most  gift- 
ed in  prophecies,  in  trances,  dreams,  visions,  fragrant  smells, 
and  delightful  singing  in  the  breast.  Some  were  favored 
with  an  interview  with  their  departed  friends,  and  learned 
their  different  allotments  in  the  invisible  world  ;  some  saw  the 
holy  city,  and  heard  the  songs  of  the  angelic  hosts,  others,  in 
their  visions  were  employed  in  crossing  rivers,  climbing  moun- 
tains, finding  treasures,  fighting  serpents,  or  more  delightfully 
employed  in  eating  the  fruits  of  the  tree  of  life,  bathing  in 
clear  water,  casting  off  old  garments  and  putting  on  new." 

The  following  account  of  these  singular  occurrences  is  from 
Dew's  Journal,  before  referred  to.  In  the  year  1S05,  ho 
preached  in  Knoxville,  Tenn.  before  the  governor,  when 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  (among  whom  were  a 
number  of  Quakers)  had  the  jerks.     He  adds: 

"I  have  seen  all  denominations  of  religion  exercised  by  the 
jerks,  gentleman  and  lady,  black  and  white,  young  and  old, 
without  exception.  I  passed  a  meeting  house,  where  I  ob- 
Jierved  the  undergrowth  had  been  cutaway  for  a  camp  meet- 
ing, and  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  saplings  were  left,  breast-high, 
on  purpose  for  the  people  who  were  jerked  to  hold  by.  I  ob- 
served where  they  had  held  on,  they  had  kicked  up  the  earth 
ds  a  horse  stamping  flies.  A  Presbyierian  minister  told  me, 
while  he  was  preacliini  the  day  before,  some  had  the  jerks. 
1  believe  it  dues  not  affect  those  naturalists,  who  wish  to  try 
fo  get  it  to  philosophise  upon  it;— and  rarely  those  who  are 
♦he'most  pious;  but  the  luke-warm,  lazy  professor,  is  subject 
to  it.  The  wicked  fear  it,  and  are  subject  to  it,  but  the  per- 
secutors are  more  subject  to  it  than  any  ;  and  they  sometimes 
have  cursed  and  swore,  and  dauuied  it  whilejerking." 

Mr.  Powers  details  the  particulars  of  a  family  in  Chelms- 
ford, Mass.  where  one  of  the  children  was  affected  with  chorea, 
and  five  others  exercised  themselves  with  imitating  his  odd 
•Gestures  until  every  one  of  them  Avere  irresistibly  affected  in 
the  same  way.  And  the  spell  was  not  broken  until  the  father 
one  day,  brought  a  block  and  axe,  and  sternly  threatened  to 


SYMPATHY    AND    ANTIPATHY.  55 

take  off  the  head  of  the  first  child  who  should  exhibit  any 
more  of  those  singular  gestures. 

Dr.  Haygarth  gives  a  similar  account  of  the  effects  of  sym- 
pathy, which  took  place  in  1796  among  some  peasants  in  the 
Island  of  Anglesey.  It  commenced  with  one  female,  and  in 
a  short  time  extended  to  some  twenty  others.  And  a  similar 
account  may  be  found  in  the  Edinburgh  Medical  and  Surgical 
Journal,  vol.  3,  p.  43S,  given  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Archibald,  of 
Unst.  He  says,  at  first,  the  affection  commenced  with  a  fe- 
male; but,  on  her  manifesting  the  affection  at  church,  it  was 
immediately  communicated  to  others.  And,  in  another  par- 
ish, some  sixty  persons  were  seized  in  the  same  way  ;  and  be- 
ing carried  out  and  laid  in  the  yard,  they  would  struggle  and 
roar  with  all  their  might,  for  five  or  ten  minutes,  and  then 
rise  up,  without  remembering  any  thing  that  had  happened 
to  them. 

Affections  of  the  same  kind  prevailed  among  the  Anabap- 
tists in  Germany,  and  the  French  Prophets  in  Dauphiny,  and 
in  England  ;  and  after  them  the  Quakers,  and  also  among 
the  Puritans  of  New  England,  in  1745,  and  more  recently 
among  the  Methodists,  Baptists,  Presbyterians;  and  especi- 
ally, among  the  Mormons.  Nor  are  these  affections  confined 
to  Protestant  sects;  they  have  been  equally  prevalent  among 
the  Papists,  and,  indeed,  among  those,  as  we  have  before 
seen,  who  are  not  religiously  disposed.  I  have  been  inform- 
ed of  similar  affections  among  the  Mahometans.  A  gentle- 
man who  has  been  among  them  during  seasons  of  prayer, 
states,  that  for  some  time,  he  had  seen  some  of  them  con- 
vulsed, and  they  would  emit  a  kind  of  froth  at  their  mouth. — 
Those  less  favored,  would  take  this  foam  from  the  mouths  of 
their  companions,  and  by  rubbing  it  upon  their  own  bodies 
would  thus  excite  a  similar  state  of  feeling  and  action  in 
themselves. 

That  the  affections  above  described,  were  communicated 
by  the  laws  of  sympathy,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  And  it 
would  be  equally  easy  to  show,  that  many  diseases  deem- 
ed contagious,  have  been  communicated  in  the  same  way. 
The  history  of  the  Asiatic  Cholera,  would  as  plainly  demon- 


5(i  PATHETISM. 

slralc  llie  truth  of  this  position,  as  it  would  prove,  that  any 
such  disease  ever  existed.  And  the  same  might  be  said  of 
oilier  diseases,  and  afTections,  both  mental  and  physical, 
which  are  frequently  known  to  gain  upon  individuals,  fami- 
lies, neighborhoods,  and  generally  Avhole  districts  of  country. 
Sometimes,  an  enormous  crime  will  be  committed ;  and  its 
flagrancy  excites  a  kind  of  susceptibility  in  the  mind  of  an- 
other, and  another,  until  it  has  been  followed  by  a  dozen  or 
more  of  the  same  kind. 

The  same  sympathetic  panic  often  seizes  upon  large  as- 
semblies of  people.  A  word  or  a  hint  from  one  individual 
communicates  a  shock  through  the  whole.  In  this  way  mobs 
are  frequently  stimulated  to  ungovernable  fury,  and  soldiers, 
in  the  day  of  battle,  rush  on  in  the  face  of  death  ;  or  panic 
struck,  the  fear  spreads  from  one  to  thousands,  and  those  who 
but  a  moment  before,  were  ready  to  brave  the  cannon's  mouth, 
are  now  tremlDling  with  fear,  and  find  it  impossible  to  summon 
either  courage  or  self-possession.  At  other  times,  a  word,  or 
look  from  some  master  spirit,  electrifies  the  mass  around  him, 
and  from  one  to  another  the  impulse  communicates  a  feeling 
of  heroism  and  intrepidity,  which  increases  as  it  spreads,  till 
the  entire  mass  are  impatient  to  throw  their  lives  away  in  the 
whirlwind  of  their  ambition. 

If  one  person  is  said  to  see  a  ghost,  it  not  unfrequently 
happens  that  a  sensibility  is  awakened  in  the  minds  of  many 
others,  till  the  infection  has"  spread,  and  ghosts  are  multiplied 
in  proportion  to  the  susceptibility  of  the  people,  who  happen 
to  hear  the  strange  details  of  the  departed  spirits.  So,  if  one 
in  a  family,  or  neighborhood,  happens  to  have  a  singular 
dream,  it  is  followed  Vv'ith  others  of  the  same  kind.  In  a 
word,  whatever  is  related  to  the  strange  or  marvellous,  what- 
ever is  calculated  to  excite  credulity  or  fear,  operates  hy  sT/m- 
pathy,  and  in  this  way  we  may  easily  account  for  the  preva- 
lence of  many  crimes,  and  the  various  forms  of  witchcraft 
and  delusion  which  have,  from  time  to  time,  so  much  dis- 
turbed and  cursed  the  world. 

I  know,  indeed,  that  many  pious  people,  attribute  some  of 
the  exercises  I  have  described  to  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.     That  many  persons  affected  in  these  ways,  are 


SYMPATHY    A>iD    ANTIFATIIY.  57 

pious,  sincere  christians,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  But  a  knov/- 
ledge  of  the  susceptibility  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  the 
nature  of  the  human  mind,  would  leave  us  little  doubt,  that 
these  things  may  be  rationally  accounted  for  in  some  other 
way. 

I  have  seen  persons  "lose  their  strength,"  as  it  is  called, 
at  camp  meetings,  and  other  places  of  great  religious  excite- 
ment ;  not  pious  people  alone,  but  those  also,  who  were  not 
professors  of  religion.  In  the  spring  of  1824,  while  perform- 
ing pastoral  labor,  in  Dennis,  Mass.,  I  saw  more  than  twenty 
men  affected  in  this  way.  Two  young  men  of  the  name  of 
Crowel -came  one  day  to  a  prayer  meeting.  They  were  quite 
indifferent.  I  conversed  w^ith  them  freely,  but  they  showed 
no  signs  of  penitence.  From  the  meeting  they  went  to  their 
(shoemaker's)  shop  to  finish  some  work,  before  going  to  the 
meeting  in  the  evening.  On  seating  themselves,  (hey  were 
both  struck  perfectly  stiff,  as  if  paralyzed  by  catalepsey. — 
I  was  immediately  sent  for,  and  found  them  sitting,  paralyzed, 
on  their  benches,  with  their  work  in  their  hands,  unable  to 
sit  up,  or  to  move  at  all !  And  I  have  seen  scores  of  persons 
affected  in  the  same. way. 

I  have,  by  pathetisra,  thrown  numbers  of  persons  into  a 
state  precisely  similar  to  that,  in  which  they  are  said  to  "lose 
their  strength"  under  religious  excitement.  They,  themselves, 
declare,  that  the  two  states  are  exactly  alike,  nor  is  there  any 
reason  for  supposing  that  there  is  any  material  difference  be- 
tween  them. 


CHAPTER    V. 


RELATION. 


\Vc  have  seen  that  sympathy  and  antipathy,  in  the  human 
system,  depends  upon  the  Relation  subsisting  between  tAVo 
organs.  That  is,  there  can  be  no  sympathy,  witliout  two 
persons,  things  or  parts ;  and  between  Avhich  there  must  be 
some  connection  established.  If  the  brain  is  affected  by  the 
stomach,  or  vice  versa,  it  is  because  they  sustain  a  peculiar  re- 
kttion  to  each  other,  and  so  of  every  effect  which  comes  to 
pass,  throughout  universal  nature.  Two  things  must  not  only 
exist,  before  the  third  is  produced,  but  there  must  be  a  rela- 
tion brought  about  between  them  ;  for,  without  this,  there 
can  be  no  cause,  no  effect  of  any  kind.  Some  results  may  re- 
quire more  than  two  things  to  be  combined,  but  it  is  a  fact  so 
well  known,  that  no  effect  of  any  kind,  can  be  produced  w^ith-  ^ 
out  a  relation  first  established  between  an  agent  and  a  sub- 
stance to  be  acted  upon,  that  we  need  not  stop  here,  to  argue 
this  point.  It  is  one  of  those  self-evident  truths,  which  every 
where  first  meets  the  opening  senses  of  the  human  mind,  and 
therefore  is  no  more  susceptible  of  proof  than  one's  own  con- 
scious?iess  of  thinking,  speaking,  or  acting.  It  will  be  suffi- 
cient, therefore,  if  I  merely,  in  this  connection,  add,  what  may 
be  necessary  to  show  how  this  first  law  of  nature  applies  to 
the  subject  now  under  consideration. 

1.  If  you  take  two  pieces  of  soft,  smooth  iron,  and  apply 
them  together,  you  will  discover  no  attraction  between  them. 
But  ifyou  rub  one  upon  the  other,  lengthwise,  in  one  direc- 
tion, only  for  a  few  minutes,  you  will  perceive  a  mutual  at- 
traction between  them.  Kow,  we  say,  this  attraction  de- 
pends on  the  relation  established  between  those  two  pieces  of 
iron,  by  bringing  them  in  contact,  in  that  peculiar  manner.— 
'For  ifyou  merclv  rub  one  upon  the  other,  as  in  the  process  of 


RELATION.  59 

filing,  no  effects  of  this  kind,  are  produced.  So,  if  you  take  an 
ordinary  iron  rod,  and  hold  it  horizontally,  on  applying  the 
needle  it  will  not  show  any  signs  of  polarity ;  but  hold  the  rod 
perpendicularly  to  the  earth,  and  it  acquires  polarity,  so  as  to 
affect  the  needle.  The  reason  to  be  assigned  for  this,  is,  that 
in  the  one  case,  the  rod  sustains  a  relation  to  the  earth  from 
which  its  polarity  is  derived,  which  it  does  not  sustain  in  the 
other. 

Zinc  and  copper,  produce  no  galvanic  effect,  till  a  relation  is 
established  between  ihem  by  a  suitable  fluid. 

So  we  say  of  light  and  heat,  x^o  effects  are  produced  by 
the  sun  until  his  influence  is  extended  to  the  earth,  and  a  cer- 
tain relation  roust  be  brought  about  between  the  earth  and 
the  sun,  before  the  process  of  vegetation  is  commenced ;  and 
not  then,  even,  unless  the  sun  is  brought  in  contact  with  earth 
of  a  certain  quality. 

All  chemical  results  come  to  pass,  from  relations  establish- 
ed between  two  or  more  substances;  and  the  effects  depend 
always,  upon  the  qualities  of  the  bodies  which  are  brought  to- 
gether. 

2.  This  relation  hcticeen  two  bodies,  ichich  produces  any 
'positive  results,  depends  upon  certain  contrarieties  in  their 
qualities.  This  law  is  universal.  True,  when  you  bring 
two  poles  of  the  same  denomination  in  contact,  a  result  is 
produced,  but  it  is  of  a  negaiive  character:  they  mutually  re- 
pel or  destroy  each  other.  But,  to  bring  about  a  positive  re- 
sult, to  change  the  state  of  one  substance  or  body,  it  must  be 
brought  into  relation  with  another  of  an  opposite  quality. — 
We  have  already  observed,  that  nature  works  by  contrarieties. 
Throughout  the  animal  kingdom,  we  see  the  species  produced 
by  the  union  of  male  and  female,  and  husbands  and  wives  of 
the  same  temperament  usually,  cccteris  paribus,  will  either 
have  no  issue,  or  their  children,  should  they  have  any,  will  be 
found  feeble  and  short  lived.  And  the  law"  of  God,  forbid- 
dins:  the  raarriasre  of  near  relations,  is  hence  seen  to  be  foun- 
ded  upon  a  law. of  our  nature;  and  thus  we  may  see  why  it 
is,  that  the  offspring  of  such  marriages  are  followed  by  cretin- 
ism, or  feeble  mental  endowmients.     Mr.  Marchant,  a  physi- 


60  PATHETISM. 

cianand  a  native  ofihe  Pyrenees,  says,*  that  the  inhahitants 
of  a  village  in  the  region  of  the  narrow  valleys  seldom  marry 
with  others  out  of  the  neighborhood,  and  that  the  consequen- 
ces of  this  custom  are  so  powerful,  that  mental  imbecility  is 
quiie  common,  even  in  the  most  noble  and  wealthy  fami- 
lies. 

As  in  the  animal,  so  we  find  a  correspondence  in  vegetable 
life.  The  seed,  for  instance,  in  the  pod,  is  produced  on  the 
line  which  unites  two  leaves,  and  the  same  law  governs 
throughout  the  vegetable  kinsfdom. 

All  the  changes  produced  in  the  human  system  by  medi- 
cine, all  the  changes  produced  in  any  substance,  in  any  way, 
are  brought  about  by  establishing  a  relation  belw^een  the  thing 
acted  upon,  and  the  other  body  brought  into  relation  with  it. 
Changes  are  brought  about  in  the  mind  by  the  same  means. — 
All  our  duties  to  God,  and  our  fellow  men,  grow  out  of  the  rela- 
tions we  sustain  to  him  and  them.  All  our  feelings  of  love 
or  compassion,  or  hatred,  spring  from  these  relations.  And 
so  of  hope  and  fear,  so  of  faith,  and  every  emotion  of  which 
the  mind  is  susceptible,  the  whole  depend  on  the  qualities  of 
other  persons,  and  things,  between  whom  and  ourselves 
certain  relations  have  been  established.  And  hence  we  find, 
that  in  order  to  produce  any  change  in  the  human  system  by 
pathetism,  it  is  always  necessary  to  establish  a  relation  be- 
tween the  operatory  the  process,  or  the  agent,  and  the  patient 
to  be  acted  upon.  Nothing  is  done  until  this  relation  has 
been  formed,  and  upon  its  strength,  if  I  may  so  speak,  will 
depend  all  the  results  which  follow  the  process  of  pathetising 
The  human  system,  or  any  mental  effort  exerted  over  the  sys- 
tem of  another. 

3.  This  relation  is  increased  hy  habit,  and  sometimes  aC' 
(piircs  supreme  control  over  the  mind.  This  fact  explains 
hov)  it  is,  that  some  persons  are  made  sick  by  the  mere  thought 
of  an  emetic.  The  mind  having  become  accustomed  to  the 
effects  produced  by  this  drug,  the  mere  sight  or  thought  of  it, 
calls  up  this  relation,  and  the  sickness  follows.  So,  when  the 
mind  becomes  habituated  to  the  effects  of  any  other  medicine 

*  Gazette  Des  Hopiteaux, 


RELATION.  61 

or  any  pecuWar  process  for  ihe  produclion  of  certaia  results; 
it  is  often  effected  by  this  relaiion  in  the  same  way. 

Instance  the  condition  of  one  confirmed  in  habits  of  intoxi- 
cation. While  the  rum-bottle  is  out  of  sight,  he  remains  qui- 
et and  sober;  but  on  merely  seeing  the  vessel  from  which  he 
has  so  often  quaffed  the  bewitching  liquid,  his  susceptibility 
is  awakened  at  once,  and  his  desire  for  it  again  becomes  un- 
governable, till  he  is  carried,  it  may  be  against  his  will,  into 
the  vortex  of  destruction. 

What  is  called  the  "  association  of  ideas,"  is  attributable  to 
this  same  power.  The  sight  of  one  object  cr.lls  up  another, 
with  which  it  had  become  associated. 

The  first  note  of  a  well-known  tune,  brings  to  mind  the  en- 
tire piece  of  music.  Cases  of  severe  tooth-ache,  have  often 
been  cured  by  the  mere  sight  of  the  forceps.  Persons  injured 
by  fright,  in  cases  of  fire,  or  great  danger,  are  sometimes 
alarmed,  on  hearing  similar  sounds,  or  merely  seeing  any 
place  or  object  which  brings  the  scene  again  before  the  mind. 
Some  will  sink  into  a  state  of  sleep,  by  merely  sitting  in  the 
chair  where  they  have  been  often  pui  to  sleep  before;  and  the 
sight  of  any  place,  where  the  mind  has  been  peculiarly  im- 
pressed, revives  the  same  feelings,  and  we  live  over  again  the 
scenes  which,  otherwise,  had  remained  entirely  obliterated 
from  recollection. 

4.  This  relation,  in  some  cases,  seems  to  depend,  wholhj,  up- 
on the  mental  apprehensions  of  its  nature,  and  the  mind  trans- 
fers it  from  one  object  to  another. — That  the  mind  has  this 
power,  is  proved  by  innumerable  facts  of  the  same  kind  of 
those  we  have  already  adduced,  in  the  chapter  on  suscepti- 
bility. How  else  did  it  come  to  pass,  that  the  opiate  given  by 
Dr.  Gregory,  operated  according  to  what  the  patient  thought 
it  was,  and  not  according  to  its  real  nature?  How  else,  did 
it  come  to  pass,  that  Sir  W.  Ellis'  patient  was  salivated  with 
bread  pills?  Indeed,  almost  every  practitioner  of  any  consid- 
erable experience,  will  be  found  able  to  refer  to  cases  of  the 
same  kind,  when  the  effects  of  medicine  have  been  just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  apprehensions  of  the  patient,  and  not  according 
to  their  well-known  medical  properties. 

F 


62  '  PATIIETISM. 

What  made  the  criminal  die,  when  he  thought  himself 
bleeding^  to  death,  and  not  a  drop  of  blood  had  been  drawn 
from  his  veins?  Why,  evidently,  he  had  transferred,  in  his 
mind,  to  himself,  the  real  danger,  from  actual  bleeding;  and 
the  consequence  was,  he  did  just  as  he  would,  had  his  eyes 
been  open,  and  he  had  seen  the  blood  issuing  from  his  own 
arm.  Many  persons  have,  unquestionably,  died  in  this  way. 
The  New  Zealanders  die  under  the  same  power,  when  cursed 
by  the  Areekee.  The  mind,  once  fully  impressed  wiih  a  con- 
viction of  the  UNERRING  CERTAINTY  of  death,  the  suscep- 
tibility yields  beyond  the  power  of  recovery,  and  death  follows 
as  a  matter  of  course.  Some  years  ago,  a  lady  in  this  city 
went  to  "  Old  Bones,"  as  he  was  called,  to  have  her  fortune 
told.  He  told  her  she  would  be  a  corpse  before  three  o'clock 
the  next  day,  and,  if  she  Avould  only  go  home  and  look  into 
the  cistern,' she  would  there  see  her  own  coffin.  The  result 
verified  the  prediction.  On  looking  into  the  cistern,  with  her 
susceptibility  excited  beyond  her  control,  as  of  course  it  would 
be  under  such  circumstances,  she  saw  her  coffin,  and  at  the 
appointed  hour,  laid  down  and  died.  And  persons  may  be  found 
in  all  classes  of  society,  who  might  be  killed  in  the  same  way, 
indeed,  as  they  no  doubt  have  been,  in  times  past.  And  the 
history  of  witchcraft,  would  afford  some  of  the  most  striking 
illustrations  of  this  law  of  the  human  mind,  and  most  clearly 
show  how  it  is,  that  the  susceptibility  becomes  affected  by  the 
mental  apprehensiojis  oi  ^d^w^QX,  or  infection  from  some  unseen 
or  supernatural  power. 

Many  of  the  results,  which  followed  the  trials  made  to  test 
the  reality  of  Mesmer's  assumptions  with  regard  to  the  "  uni- 
versal fluid,"  have  often  been  referred  to  for  the  purpose  of 
proving  that  the  whole  was  a  delusion.  However,  we  shall 
find,  upon  examination,  that  those  results  prove  the  truth  of 
pathetism,  and  demonstrate  the  reality  of  the  law  here  laid 
down.  Let  us  notice  a  few  of  them,  as  stated  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  opposition. 

The  report  of  the  Royal  Acadamy  of  Sciences,  of  which  Dr. 
Franklin  was  one,  is  well  known.  To  understand  the  ac- 
cx>unts  given  by  this  committee,  of  what  they  saw,  it  must  be 


RELATION.  63 

borne  In  mind,  that  Mesmer  was  in  the  habit  of  operating  by 
the  means  of  ropes,  trees,  glass  bottles,  .Sec;  and  while  we  al- 
low, that  he  was  both*  ignorant  and  avaricious,  it  is  but  jus- 
tice to  add,  also,  that  the  report  of  the  commissioners  does  not 
seem  to  evince  so  much  candor,  on  their  part,  as  we  should 
judge  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  a  true  and  impartial  ver- 
dict on  the  subject  of  their  investigations.  But,  to  show  that 
all  the  effects  were  produced  without  the  agency  which  was 
assumed  by  Mesmer  and  his  disciples,  the  following  cases  are 
given : — 

"A  female  servant  submitted  to  the  same  operation;  and 
she  affirmed  tliat  she  felt  a  heat  in  every  part  where  the  mag- 
netised finger  was  pointed  at  her;  that  she  experienced  a 
pain  in  her  head,  and  during  a  continuance  of  the  operation, 
she  became  faint  and  swooned.  When  she  had  fully  recov- 
ered, they  ordered  her  eyes  bandaged,  and  the  operator  was 
removed  at  a  distance,  when  they  made  her  believe  she  was 
still  under  the  operation,  and  the  effects  were  the  same,  al- 
though no  one  operated,  either  near  her,  or  at  a  distance. 
She  could  tell  the  very  place  wherein  she  was  magnetised  ; 
she  felt  the  same  heat  particularly  about  the  back  and' loins, 
and  the  same  pain  in  her  eyes  and  ears.  At  the  end  of  one 
quarter  of  an  hour,  a  sign  was  made  for  her  to  be  magnetised, 
but  she  ftlt  nothing  On  the  following  day,  a  man  and  a  wo- 
man were  magnetised  in  a  similar  manner,  and  the  result 
was  the  same.  It  was  found  that  to  direct  the  imagination 
to  those  parts  where  the  sensations  were  to  be  felt,  was  all 
that  was  necessary  to  produce  these  Vv'onderful  effects. 

"Mesmer  and  £)elson,  asserted  that  they  could  magnetise  a 
tree,  and  every  person  approaching  the  tree  in  a  given  lime 
would  be  magnetized,  and  either  fall  in  a  swoon,  or  in  con- 
vulsions, provided  the  Magnetizer  was  permitted  to  stand  at 
a  distance  and  direct  his  look  and  cane  towards  the  tree.  Ac- 
cordingly an  apricot  tree  was  selected  in  Dr.  Franklin's  gar- 
den atPassy,  for  the  experiment ;  and  M.  Delson  came  and 
magnetised  the  tree  while  the  patient  was  retained  in  the 
house.  The  patient  was  then  brought  out  with  a  bandage 
over  his  eyes  and  successively  led  to  four  trees,  which  were  not 
magnetised,  and  was  directed  to  embrace  each  tree  tAvo  min- 
utes, while  M.  Delson  at  a  distance,  stood  pointing  his  cane 
to  the  tree  actually  magnetised  At  the  first  tree,  which 
stood  about  twenty-seven  Yeet  from  the  magnetised  tree,  the 
patient  sweat  profusely,  coughed,  expectorated,  and  said  he 
felt  a  pain  in  his  head.     At  the  second  tree,  now  thirty  feet 


64}  PATIIETISM. 

from  the  masfnelised  tree,  he  found  himself  giddy,  attended 
with  headache  as  before.  At  the  third  tree,  his  giddiness 
and  headache  were  much  increased,  and  he  said  he  believed 
he  was  approaching  the  magnetised  tree,  although  he  was 
still  tweaty-eight  feet  from  it.  At  length,  when  brought  to 
the  fourth  tree,  7iot  inairnctised,  and  at  the  distance  of  twenty- 
four  feel  from  that  which  was,  the  young  man  fell  down  in  a 
stale  of  perfect  insensibiliiy  ;  his  limbs  became  rigid,  and  he 
was  carried  to  a  grass-plor,  where  M.  Delson  went  to  his  as- 
sistance and  recovered  him ;  and  yet  in  no  instance,  had  he 
approached  within  a  less  distance  than  twenty-four  feet  of  the 
magnetised  tree. 

"  A  similar  experiment  was  soon  after  made  on  two  poor 
females  at  Dr.  Franklin's  house.  These  women  were  separ- 
ated :  three  of  the  commissioners  with  one  of  them  in  one 
chamber;  and  iv/o  of  them  with  the  other,  in  an  adjoining 
chamber.  The  first  had  a  bandage  over  her  eyes,  and  was 
then  made  to  believe  that  M.  Delson  had  commenced  magne- 
tising her,  although  he  never  entered  the  room.  In  iliree 
minutes  the  woman  began  to  shiver ;  she  felt,  in  succession, 
a  pain  in  her  head,  and  in  her  arms,  and  a  pricking  in  her 
hands;  she  became  stiff,  her  hands  stuck  together,  got  up  and 
stamped,  etc  but  nothing  had  been  done  to  her.  The  woman 
in  the  adjoinins:  chamber  was  requested  to  take  her  seat  by 
the  door  which  was  shut,  wirh  her  sight  at  liberty,  and  was 
then  made  to  believe  that  M.  Delson  would  magnetise  tae 
door  on  the  opposite  side,  while  tlie  commissioners  would 
wait  to  witness  the  result.  She  had  scarcely  been  seat- 
ed a  minute  before  she  began  to  shiver,  her  breathing  soon 
became  hurried;  she  stretched  out  her  arms  behind  her  back, 
writhing  them  strongly,  and  bending  her  body  forwards; 'a 
general  tremor  of  the  whole  body  came  on:  the  chattering  of 
her  teeth  was  so  loud  as  to  be  heard  out  of  the  room  ;  and 
she  bit  her  hand  so  as  to  leave  the  marks  of  her  leeih  in  it ; 
but  M.  Delson  was  not  near  the  door,  nor  in  either  chamber ; 
nor  was  either  of  the  women  touched,  not  even  their  pulse 
examined. 

"Dr.  Sigualt,  an  eminent  physician  of  Pans,  communicated 
to  the  commissioners  some  effects  he  witnessed  upon  his  mere 
pretence  of  his  being  an  adept  in  the  art  of  Mesmer.  Being 
at  a  great  house  one  day,  he  caused  it  to  be  announced  that 
he  could  mao-netise.  The  voice  and  serious  air  he  assumed, 
had  a  sensible  effect  on  a  lady  present,  althoui^'h  she  endeav- 
ored to  conceal  the  fact.  But  having  carried  his  hand  to  the 
region  of  the  heart,  he  found  it  palpitating.  She  soon  experi- 
enced difficulty  in  respiration  ;  the  muscles  of  her  face  were 
affected  with  convulsive  twitches,  her  eyes  rolled;  she  shortly 


RELATION,  65 

foii  down  in  a  fainting  fit ;  vomited  her  dinner,  purged  several 
limes,  and  experienced  incredible  weakness  and  languor.  He 
further  adds,  that  having  met  a  celebrated  artist  one  day  on 
the  Pont-Royai,  and  being  informed  Jby  him  ihat  he  had  been 
afflicted  several  days  with  a  severe  head-ache,  the  Doctor 
persuaded  him  that  he  was  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of 
Mesmer,  and  by  means  of  a  few  gestures,  he  almost  immedi- 
ately removed  the  pain,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  artist." 

Now,  on  examination,  it  will  be  found,  I  think,  that  these 
accounts,  so  far  from  proving  any  thing  against  pathetisrn, 
prove  exactly  the  reverse.     Observe : 

1,  The  persons  affected  in  the  manner  above  described,  had 
all  heard,  more  or  less,  of  the  effects  said  to  be  produced  by 
mesmeric  operations.  In  this  way  their  susceptibilities  were 
excited,  of  course,  and  prepared  to  be  controlled  by  the  appre- 
hensions of  the  mind. 

2.  The  relation  established  in  their  minds  between  them- 
selves, and  the  agencies  by  which  they  were  supposed  to  be 
produced,  brought  about  the  results  above  described.  Just  so, 
if  a  hungry  person  fancies  he  sees  an  article  of  food  :  the  sa- 
liva is  at  once  excited,  and  his  "mouth  waters,"  from  the  asj 
sociation  in  his  mind.  But,  on  inspection,  what  he  thought 
to  be  a  mellow  peach,  perhaps,  proves  to  be  a  painted  piece 
of  stone ! 

I  knew  a  lady  who  was  seized  with  vomiting,  on  the  arri- 
val of  the  morning  which  she  had  appointed  for  going  on 
board  a  packet,  for  a  few  hours'  sail.  Long  before  she  entered 
on  board,  she  was  completely  prostrated  with  "  sea  sickness." 
Persons  are  often  exceedingly  frightened  in  the  same  way. 
They  think  they  see  a  ghost,  which  proves,  however,  to  be  a 
lamp  post.  Eut  these  cases,  so  far  from  demonstrating  the 
mere  ideality  of  the  agency  by  which  we  operate  on  the  human 
system,  in  producing  relief  from  pain,  or  inducing  sleep,  by  a 
mere  process,  adopted  for  this  purpose,  they  go  rather  to 
prove  the  reverse,  and  to  show  how  it  is,  that  the  mind  creates 
or  transfers  this  relation  from  one  object  to  another,  and  ap- 
propriates to  itself  all  the  influences  which  could,  in  any  case, 
he  exerted  by  contact  with  physical  causes. 

Others  have  fancied  philosophy  and  science  not  a  little  in- 

Fl 


(5G  PATHETTSM. 

debted  to  themselves,  when  they  have  pointed  to  cases  simi- 
lar to  the  above,  and  assumed  that  the  cflTects  were  produced 
by  the  imagination.  But  what  the  "  imagination"  is,  they 
have  not  told  us. 

The  knowledge  ot^this  law  of  the  human  mind  sufficiently 
explains  how  it  is,  that  sleep  follows  from  certain  processes, 
without  contact  with  the  patient;  and,  J  humbly  conceive,  it 
shows  the  ralwnale  of  this  mystery  much  more  satisfactorily 
than  the  theory  of  Mr.  Baird,  of  Manchester,  England,  which 
was  published  a  year  or  two  sinse,  and  was  as  follows: 

**  The  artificial  mode  of  effecting  sleep  is  Xo  fatigue  the  rec- 
tus and  levator  muscle  of  the  eye,  which  is  efi'ected  by  a  con- 
tinuously strained  and  intent  gaze  at  an  object  viewed  vjnder 
an  acute  angle.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  irriiability  of 
those  muscles  becomes  exhausted,  as  well  as  the  irritability  of 
the  optic  nerve;  a  mist  rises  up  before  the  eye,  and  sleep  en- 
sues." 

But  this  amounts  to  no  more  than  what  almost  every  per- 
son may  have  observed  and  felt,  when  the  attention  has  be- 
come fixed  under  certain  circumstances.     Any  barber  would 
•have  ffiven  as  dear  an  account  of  cases  of  somnolency  produ- 
ced under  the  operation  of  shaving. 

However,  "  physiology  and  anatomy"  do  not  furnish  us  with 
sufficient  proof  for  demonstrating  this  theory,  as  has  bfeen 
supposed.  An  article  may  be  found  in  the  18th  vol.  of  the 
Dublin  Med.  Journal,  p.  70,  from  Mr.  G.  Stokes,  clearly  de- 
monstrating that  the  closure  of  the  eyelids  is  not  a  mere  pas- 
sive condition  from  fatigue,  and  relaxation  of  the  levator,  as 
taught  by  Bichat,  but  that  muscular  agency  is  employed  in  its 
accomplishment.  An  interesting  case  is  there  giyen  of  para- 
lysis of  the  portio  dura,  occasioning  lagophthalmos,  in  which, 
as  in  similar  cases,  by  no  means  very  uncommon,  the  upper 
evelid  assumes  that  position  in  which  the  force  of  gravity,  un- 
aided by  muscular  effort,  would  place  it.  Mr.  Stokes  consi- 
ders this  muscle  as  a  true  sphincter,  for  the  reasons  that  it  pre- 
sents all  the  anatomical  and  physiological  characteristics  pe- 
culiar to  such  muscles,  viz.  a  mixed  function — the  voluntary 
power  being  employed  during  a  state  of  wakefulness,  and  the 
involuntary  during  sleep.     And,  further,  it  does  not  appear 


RELATION.  67 

ihat  this  kind  of  sleep  is  induced  merely  by  fatiguing  the  eye- 
lids. Ordinary  sleep  may  be  brought  on  by  fatigue,  or  a  dose 
of  laudanum;  but  in  such  cases  it  differs,  widely,  from  that 
sleep  which  is  induced  by  sympathy  with  any  peculiar  pro- 
cess, adopted  for  its  production.  Somnipathy  may  be  induced 
without  contact,  or  the  passes,  whenever  a  positive  relation 
is  established  between  the  susceptibility  of  the  patient,  and 
the  process  used  to  produce  it.  Nor  is  this  all.  According  to 
this  theory,  if  the  patient  were  to  be  seated  with  his  eyes 
closed,  sleep  would  not  follow,  because,  in  that  case,  the  mus- 
cles of  the  eye  would  not  become  fatigued.  It  is  well  known, 
that  menoiony,  or  whatever  tends  to  fix  the  attention,  has  a 
tendency  to  induce  sleep;  and  in  persons  of  the  right  suscep- 
tibility, somnipathy  may  be  brought  on  in  this  Avay,  or,  in- 
deed, any  other  change  produced  in  the  system,  which  the 
patient  is  led  to  anticipate^  under  the  direction  of  the  ope- 
rator. 


CHAPTER    VI 


PATIIETISJI. 


From  the  foregoing  pages  it  will  have  been  seen,  that  by 
what  I  denominate  patheiism,  is  meant  susceptibility  to  the 
influence  of  an  agency  which  is  concerned  in  every  feeling  or 
emotion,  or  passion,  or  action  which  was  ever  felt,  or  put 
forth  by  any  human  being.  It  has  to  do  with  the  laws  of  an- 
imal life — with  nervous  susceptibility  to  pleasure  or  to  pain. 
Without  it  man  is  a  lifeless  body  of  matter.  All  the  feelings 
therefore  which  one  human  being  may  be  able  to  excite  in  the 
mind  of  another,  whether  pleasureable  or  otherwise,  all  the 
influence  he  is  enabled  to  exert  over^mind,  are  identical  with 
this  same  agency.  If  they  be  fromthe  materia  medica,  receiv- 
ed into  the  stomach,  or  agencies  applied  to  the  surface  of  the 
body,  their  eflects  depend  upon  a  susceptibility,  peculiar  to  the 
living  body.  Or,  if  impressions  be  made  upon  the  sensorium 
through  the  eye  or  ear,  or  through  the  nerves  of  sensation, 
the  immediate  agency  which  carries  those  impressions  to  the 
mind  is  pathctism.  It  is  heard  in  the  tones  of  the  voice,  it  is 
seen  in  the  look  of  the  eye,  and  the  features  of  the  face;  and 
in  its  effects  thus  produced,  nothing  is  thought  of  it,  because 
these  are  common  and  always  before  the  mind.  But  when 
precisely  the  same  thing,  is  felt  from  the  touch  of  the  human 
hand,  those  not  familiar  with  the  true  philosophy  of  mind 
start  back  and  tell  us  this  cannot  be?  But  why  not?  AYhat 
has  been  known,  or  what  is  now  known  of  the  human  system, 
which  proves  that  the  same  influence  may  not  be  communi- 
cated to  one,  from  the  touch  of  the  hand,  which  at  other  times 
reaches  the  soul  through  the  eye,  or  the  ear  ?  Or,  who  has 
been  able  to  tell  how  it  is  that  an  impression  is  made  upon 
the  tnijid  through  the  ear?  AVhat  is  there  in  sound  to  af- 
fect mind?    Or,  when  the  rays  of  light  strike  upon  the  optic 


PATHETISM.  69 

nerves,  what  makes  the  intellect  take  cognizance  of  the  im- 
age which  they  make  ihere?  In  a  word,  hoiu  is  it  that  what 
we  call  mind  is  impressed  by  natural  agencies,  in  any  way  ? 
Can  matter  control  spirit  ? 

And  pressing  these  inquiries  thus  far,  I  might  ask  an  objec- 
tor to  tell  the  difference  between  matter  and  spirit — What  is 
an  element  ?  What  are  the  laws  by  which  mind  and  matter 
reciprocally  affect  each  other  ?  What  is  life  ?  What  is  dis- 
ease and  death  ? 

Do  you  say  that  we  know  nothing  of  these  first  principles  ? 
that  we  are  in  the  dark  as  to  the  laws  which  operate  in  pro- 
ducinor  the  most  common  occurrences  of  life  ?  Then  it  must 
not,  it  will  not  be  denied,  but  that  there  are  other  things  as 
mysterious  and  unaccountable,  as  the  wonders  of  phrenopathy 
or  clairvoyance.  When  I  place  my  hand  upon  the  head  of 
another,  and  he  manifests  a  feeling  of  sadness  or  joy  ;  when 
by  the  same  simple  process,  I  cause  him  to  weep  or  to  sing, 
laugh  or  to  pray,  to  rave  with  madness  or  to  soar  in  ecstacies 
of  pleasureable  emotions,  is  there  any  more  real  mystery  in 
the  agency  by  which  these  things  are  done,  than  when  one  is 
made  to  weep  by  merely  looking  upon  a  scene  of  suffering; 
or  when  he  is  induced  to  sing  from  the  influence  of  certain 
sounds  which  break  upon  the  ear? 

And  thus  of  mental  perceptions,  when  the  external  senses 
are  closed.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  persons  to  have  more  viv- 
id and  impressive  views  of  objects  in  their  natural  sleep,  than 
they  ever  had  in  their  waking  state.  The  system  being 
composed  and  all  the  faculties  at  rest,  except  the  one  or  two 
whose  excitement  constitutes  the  dreaming,  the  energies  of 
the  whole  seem  to  be  concentrated  upon  those  organs,  and  an 
impression  is  thus  made  more  powerful  than  any  which  could 
be  produced  when  all  the  organs  are  in  a  state  of  general 
wakefulness.  The  phenomenon  of  dreaming  is  common,  and 
therefore  excites  no  surprise.  But  when  one  is  put  into  a 
state  of  sleep  by  artificial  means,  and  in  that  slate  he  is  found 
to  see  with  his  eyes  fast  closed,  and  to  have  perceptions  of  dis- 
tant objects,  the  phenomenon  is  new,  and  we  cannot  admit  it. 

If  we  take  two  pieces  of  smooth  soft  iron,  and  put  them  in 


70  PATHETISM. 

contact,  we  do  not  see  that  one  has  any  influence  upon  the 
other;  but  if  we  rub  one  piece  upon  the  other,  in  one  direc- 
tion only,  for  a  length  of  time,  wc  perceive  that  by  this  pro- 
cess, we  have  established  such  a  relation  between  the  two, 
that  they  mutually  attract  each  other.  And  yet  we  cannot 
detect  any  substance  in  either  of  them  which  was  not  there 
before;  nor  do  we  see  that  a  fluid  of  any  kind  is  actually  com' 
municated  by  one  and  received  by  the  other.  All  we  know 
about  this  phenomenon  is,  that  by  a  certain  process,  a  relation 
has  been  established  between  those  two  pieces  of  iron,  which 
causes  them  to  stick  together  in  this  manner.  What  that  re- 
lation is  we  do  not  know.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  this 
process  had  actually  produced  a  difl'erence  in  the  qualities  of 
iron;  for  before  they  were  passed  upon  each  other  in  the  way 
I  have  stated,  they  v/ere  precisely  alike  in  quality ;  for  on 
applying  either  of  them  to  either  pole  of  an  ordinary  magnet, 
they  aff'ected  it  exactly  alike.  But,  not  so,  after  they  have 
been  rubbed  together,  as  above;  for,  after  this  process,  one  of 
them  will  be  found  to  possess  north  polarity,  and  the  other 
south;  thus  proving  that  though  they  were  precisely  alike  in 
quality,  before,  yet,  this  process  has  changed  the  quality  of 
both,  and  rendered  them  susceptible  of  attraction  or  repulsion. 

But  who,  on  seeing  this  simple  phenomenon,  would  set  it 
down  as  humbuggery  ;  and  yet,  is  there  not  precisely  as  much 
of  mystery  and  the  marvellous  in  all  this,  as  in  any  of  the 
alleged  eff'ects  produced  by  pathetism  ? 

Every  one  knows,  that  the  health  of  a  well  person  is  endan- 
gered, more  or  less,  by  coming  often  in  contact  with  another 
who  is  diseased.  But  by  what  law  is  disease  communicated 
in  such  cases?  Children  who  sleep  wnth  the  aged  and  infirm, 
are  known  to  become  enfeebled,  and  sometimes  even  to  as- 
sume the  decrepid  appearance  of  old  age.  When  the  little 
one  is  hurt,  by  accident,  the  mother  instinctively  passes  her 
hand  over  the  place,  as  if  it  were  an  impulse  of  nature  which 
prompted  the  removal  of  pain  by  this  simple  process.  And 
you  will  see  similar  promptings  of  sympathy,  even  among 
animals,  when  their  young  or  their  species  give  signs  of  pain 
or  suffering,  so  easy  it  is  to  trace  this  same  law  through  the 


PATHETISM.  71 

various  grades  of  animal  existence.  Yet  in  all  these  things 
we  see  one  of  the  laws  of  this  same  agenciy  and  susceptibiliti/  ; 
and  we  may  understand  how  mistaken  the  views  of  those 
persons  are,  who  look  upon  the  subjects  discussed  in  tbe 
pages  of  this  work,  as  exclusively  connected  with  the  marvel- 
lous, and  confined  to  those  who  deal  in  jugglery,  or  fortune 
telling,  or  the  mysteries  of  the  "  black  art." 

We  see,  moreover,  how  it  is,  that  our  labours  present  their 
claims  upon  the  benevolence  of  the  philanthropist,  and  the 
faith  of  the  christian;  inasmuch  as  the  grand  object  is  the  il- 
lustration of  those  causes  which  induce  the  most  frio-hlful 
forms  of  disease  and  suffering  which  human  beings  are  doom- 
ed to  endure.  What  disease  is  to  be  more  dreaded  than  m- 
sanity?  What  affliction  more  terrible  than  that  which  deran- 
ges the  mental  functions,  and  unhinges  the  human  mind  ? 
What  more  appalling  than  a  disease  which  makes  shipwreck 
of  the  intellect,  and  converts  the  reason  into  the  ravings  of 
madness  ?  What  calamity  like  that  which  changes  the  dearest, 
tenderest  ties  of  the  kindest  heart,  into  the  bitterness  of  gall, 
and  the  furious  paroxysms  of  hatred?  What  malady  so 
frightful,  so  pregnant  with  woes,  so  difficult  to  manage,  so 
painful  to  friends,  and  so  fearful  in  its  tendencies  ?  Before  the 
blight  of  this  dreadful  affliction,  the  fairest,  tenderest  flowers 
are  swept  away,  as  by  the  blast  of  the  tornado.  The  loft- 
iest minds,  the  stars  and  suns  of  our  intellectual  heavens,  are 
blolted  out;  neither  age  nor  sex,  nor  profession,  are  spared. 
Even  the  consolations  of  our  holy  religion,  do  not  afford  per- 
fect security ;  the  devoted  christian,  and  the  man  of  God,  at 
the  altar,  are  alike  liable,  and  as  often  fall  beneath  this 
fatal  scourge. 

Alas  !  when,  oh  !  when  Avill  professed  christians  see  and 
know  as  they  should  do,  that  upon  these  laws,  depend  those 
states  of  the  mind,  which  render  obedience  to  the  Divine  Be- 
ing, and  religious  enjoyment,  even  possible?  that  the  laws  of 
mind,  those  laws  by  which  mind  is  developed  and  made  to 
understand  its  various  relations,  are  as  really  the  laws  of 
God's  appointing,  as  any  contained  in  the  sacred  pages?  and 
that  the  violation  of  these  laws  unfits  us  for  the  Divine  will 
as  really  as  the  commission  of  any  other  crime  ? 


72  PATHETISM. 

We  have,  thus  far,  considered  the  mind  only  in  its  manifes- 
tations through  the  physical  organs;  and  this  view  of  it  will 
be  continued  in  speaking  of  ilie  effects  produced  by  pathetism; 
so  that  I  must  always  be  understood  as  having  reference  to 
the  entire  person  compounded  of  mind  and  matter,  and  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  reciprocally  act  upon  each  other. 

It  must  be  remembered  also,  tliat  the  effects  I  speak  of  ia 
this  chapter  are  produced  on  subjects  both  in  the  waking 
and  sleeping  state  ;  though,  in  an  infinite  variety  of  degrees, 
in  different  persons,  and  also  by  processes  entirely  different  in 
producing  the  same  effects.  Let  us  consider  a  few  of  them 
in  detail. 

1.   The  five  senses. 

(1.)  Touch  and  feeling.  This  sense  seems  to  be  the  first, 
and  most  perfectly  developed,  and  hence,  it  is  the  first  usually 
affected  by  this  process.  Passing  the  hand  quietly  down  the 
arm,  and  inside  the  hand  of  the  patient,  produces  numbness, 
or  a  sensation  similar  to  that  felt  when  the  limb  is  said  to  be 
asleep ;  and  when  particular  portions  of  the  brain  are  operated 
upon,  or  the  common  mode  of  pathetising  is  continued  long 
enough,  the  sensation  of  feeling  is  ccropletely  annihilated, 
thou<^fh,  in  such  cases,  sense  would  seem  to  be  t7-ansferred 
and  not  destroyed.  For,  it  not  unfrequently  happens,  that 
while  the  patient  has  no  sensation  of  pain  from  any  violence 
done  to  his  own  system,  yet  his  sense  of  feeling  in  other  res- 
pects, is  increased  when  asleep,  a  hundred  fold.  He  becomes, 
perhaps,  exceedingly  affected,  on  being  touched  by  a  stranger, 
or  one  who  is  disagreeable  (o  him,  or  by  any  metallic  or  min- 
eral substance. 

Some  persons,  in  a  state  of  somnipathy,  are  agreeably  affect- 
ed by  the  touch  of  an  ordinary  magnet,  others  are  disagreeably 
affected  by  it,  and  others,  still,  are  not  sensible  of  any  effect 
when  touched  by  it,  at  all.  Somnipathists  not  unfrequently 
raanifest  a  most  singular  sympathy  of  feeling  with  the  opera- 
tor; so  that,  while  they  are  not  conscious  of  any  violence  in- 
flicted on  their  own  persons,  they  show  the  keenest  sense  of 
feeling  on  the  infliction  of  any  pain  upon  the  paihetiser,  and 
Bometimes,  also,  when  the  pain  is  inflicted  on  any  one  who  is 


PATHETISM.  73 

in  contact  with  either  of  them.  In  such  cases  it  would  seem, 
that  the  skin  performs  all  its  ordinary  functions,  except  that 
the  nerves  of  sensation  do  not  convey  impressions  to  the  brain. 
But  where  are  the  nerves  of  sense  all  this  while  ?  What 
becomes  of  their  functions  ?  And  if  the  influence  by  which 
this  result  is  produced,  be,  correctly  speaking,  "a  nervous  flu- 
id," or  an  agency  peculiar  to  the  nerves  of  motion,  and  by  which 
these  organs  perform  their  functions,  how  comes  it  to  pass, 
that  the  patient,  when  brought  under  its  influence,  is  aionce, 
deprived  of  this  important  function  of  the  nervous  system? — 
It  may  be  said,  that  this  agency  must  be  conveyed,  and  its  in- 
fluence received  by  the  ordinary  nerves,  because,  it  takes  away 
their  functions.  But,  this  inference  cannot,  necessarily,  follow, 
because  we  know,  that  this  result  is  seen  only  in  particular 
cases.  And,  besides,  if  in  the  process  of  pathetising,  a  nervous 
fluid  is  actually  communicated  from  the  operator  to  the  pa- 
tient, the  inference  would  be  reasonable,  that  the  power  of 
the  nerves  of  sensation  and  motion,  in  the  patient,  would  be 
greatly  increased.  The  increase  of  the  power  by  which  the 
nerves  perform  this  office,  should,  certainly,  increase  the  sus- 
ceptibility, and  make  the  patient  more  sensible  to  the  inflic- 
tion of  pain,  and,  indeed,  it  should  heighten,  in  every  way,  the 
nervous  powers  of  the  system.  We  nnd,  however,  upon  ex- 
amination, that,  generally,  the  results  are  directly  the  reverse 
of  this  ;  for,  instead  of  the  patient's  becoming  more  refined  in 
his  sense  from  touch  or  violence,  he  is  wholly  insensible ; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  substances  which  produced  no  sensation 
from  mere  contact  in  the  waking  state,  produce  the  strongest 
impressions  when  the  patient  is  asleep;  and  from  mere  con- 
tact with  the  hand  of  some  somnipathists,  as  well  as  others  of 
a  peculiar  temperament,  when  wideawake,  they  have  a  sense 
of  difl'erent  substances,  and  are  able  by  this  process,  alone, 
without  the  sense  of  sight  or  hearing,  to  tell  their  qualities, 
and  the  feelings  which  others  seem  to  entertain  towards  them. 
Medicines  held  in  the  hand  of  such  persons,  produce  slight  ef- 
fects upon  the  stomach ;  and  they  will,  frequently,  be  found 
able  to  distinguish  different  persons  by  touching  them,  and  not 
only  so,  but  to  distinguish  between  different  articles,  placed 


74?  '  PATHETISM. 

before  them,  while  their  eyes  are  closed,  and  ihey  will  distri- 
bute each  one  to  its  rightful  owner.  I  have  had  a  patient 
who,  when  asleep,  and  half  a  dozen  articles  were  thrown  into 
his  lap,  as  handkerchiefs,  penknives,  pencils,  pieces  of  mo- 
ney, linger-rings,  &c.,  with  his  eyes  fast  closed,  would  select 
them  one  by  one,  and  not  only  hand  each  toils  owner,  but  he 
would  put  the  articles  into  the  same  hand  from  which  they 
had  come  to  him.  So  that,  if  one  held  out  the  left  hand  to 
receive  a  handkerchief  which  he  had  deposited  with  his  right, 
the  patient,  after  touching  it,  would  perceive  it,  and  keep 
back  the  article  until  he  found  the  right  hand. 

Mr.  Cornwall,  a  recent  graduate  of  the  Wesleyan  Universi- 
ty, Middlelown,  Ct.,  gives  an  account  of  two  cases,  in  which 
this  sense  was  developed,  so  as  to  distinguish  colors  in  a  most 
remarkable  degree.  His  subjects  were  two  sisters,  aged  seven 
'and  twelve  years.  They  discovered  the  color  of  any  article 
handed  them,  merely  by  tlie  sense  of  feeling.  The  youngest 
would  put  the  article  in  contact  with  her  lips  before  fully  de- 
ciding. They  told  the  color  of  things  equally  well  in  the  dark 
as  in  the  light,  with  their  eyes  blind-folded,  and  without  his 
knowledge  of  the  articles.  Once,  when  they  were  both  asleep 
together,  he  presented  to  the  eldest  a  piece  of  calico,  with  a 
white  ground,  and  minute  diamond  shaped  figures  upon  it, 
and  asked  her  for  the  color,  she  replied,  "  it  is  white,  but 
there  are  little  things  in  it,  I  don't  know  what."  The  calico 
was  then  handed  to  her  sister,  and  she  was  asked  what  shape 
the  "  little  things"  were  ?  After  feeling  it,  she  answered,  "  I 
guess  they  are  diamond  shaped."  When  different  articles  of 
different  colors  were  presented,  they  invariably  designated  the 
several  colors  of  each. 

And,  at  the  present  time,  I  have  a  subject  who  is  able  to 
read  words,  and  distinguish  articles,  apparently  from  this 
sense  alone.  It  is  well  known  to  what  an  astonishing  degree 
of  acuteness  the  sense  of  touch  has  often  been  cultivated  by 
the  blind;  and  the  case  of  a  mute  in  the  Hartford  Asylum, 
(Ct.)  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  this  kind 
upon  record.  She  finds  little  or  no  difficulty  in  designating 
persoi'^s  by  this  sense,  and  she  will  even  select  her  own  cloth- 


PATHETISM.  75 

ing,  at  any  time,  from  any  number  of  other  articles,  even  if 
made  of  precisely  the  same  materials.  She  performs  various 
kinds  of  needle  work,  and  threads  her  needle  in  her  mouth, 
a  most  singular  performance  to  be  sure,  but  that  she  does  it, 
I  know,  from  actual  observation. 

But  it  will  be  noticed,  that  between  the  cases  of  the  blind 
and  the  sense  of  feeling  in  somnipathists,  there  is  this  marked 
difference — the  former  have  ihe  sense  of  pain,  from  contact  or 
touch,  in  the  latter  it  does  not  seem  to  exist,  except  by  sym- 
pathy with  another;  or  when  a  particular  organ  in  the  brain 
is  excited,  for  this  purpose. 

There  is  a  point  between  the  organs  of  firmness  and  venera- 
tion, which  I  have  called  the  organ  of  sensation.  It  is  very 
small,  and  when  excited,  it  renders  the  surface  of  the  entire 
system  so  inconceivably  sensitive,  that  the  patient  manifests 
the  greatest  dread  of  contact  with  any  thing,  and  in  persons 
of  the  highest  susceptibility  it  should  never  be  touched,  at  all; 
as  I  have  known  mischievous  results  to  follow  from  its  excite- 
ment, and  I  doubt  not,  in  some  cases,  it  might  produce  death. 
And  yet,  though  the  human  s-ystem  may  be  rendered  so  ex- 
ceedingly sensitive  by  the  Influence  of  another,  it  seems  still 
more  wonderful,  that  it  can  by  the  same  agency,  be  so  complete- 
ly deprived  of  all  sensation  i'rom  the  infliction  of  violence,  to 
such  an  extent,  even,  that  the  teeth  have  been  extracted,  the 
limbs  amputated,  and  various  difficult  surgical  operations 
performed  upon  the  system,  without  the  patient's  know- 
ledge, and  without  the  infliction  of  the  least  imaginable  de- 
gree of  suffering.  A  case  is  detailed  in  the  4th  number  of  1st 
volume  of  the  Magnet,  of  an  adipose  tumor,  cut  out  of  the 
arm  of  a  lady,  while  in  a  state  cf  somnipathy.  The  tumor 
was  five  inches  long,  and  five  in  breadth,  at  the  lower  half; 
and  though  the  lady  was  exceedingly  nervous  and  fearful  in 
her  normal  state,  yet  she  knew  nothing  of  what  had  been 
done  to  her,  till  restored  to  her  waking  state. 

More  recently  the  papers  have  given  an  account  of  a  pa- 
tient in  the  Wellow  Hospital,  Nottingham,  England,  who 
had  his  thigh  amputated  while  in  this  state,  and  it  is  curious 
enough,  to  see  how  unwilling  some  of  the  medical  professioa 


76  PATHETISM. 

seem  to  be,  to  admit  any  thing  in  favor  of  the  agency  of  path- 
etism  in  that  case.  Sir  R.  Dobson*  adduces  a  number  of  ca- 
ses, to  show,  that  patients  have  borne  surgical  operations 
without  giving  any  signs  of  suffering,  witliout  the  aid  of  pa- 
thetism  or  opium,  and  then  adds: 

.  "  If  ever  I  have  wanted  to  magnetize  aman  who  was  about 
to  undergo  a  painful  operation,  1  have  done  it  by  u'orking  up- 
on his  mind  through  his  ears,  (not  by  moving  my  hand  before 
his  eyes),  and  have,  over  and  over  again,  succeeded  in  crea- 
ting in  my  patients,  a  fortitude  and  resolution  under  which 
they  have  never  murmured  during  the  operation." 

Now,  I  should  like  to  know,  what  Sir  R.  Dobson  would 
make  the  difference  to  be,  betv/een  an  effect,  produced  on  the 
7nind,  through  the  ears,  and  the  same  thing  done  through  the 
eyes,  or  through  any  other  sense?  The  truth  is,  he  does  not 
seem  to  know  enough  about  the  nature  of  the  human  mind, 
to  see  that  in  whatever  way  the  mind  is  affected,  the  iynmedi- 
ate  agency  is  the  same,  and  hence,  when  it  is  admitted  that 
the  mind  may  be  affected  through  the  ear,  enough  is  admitted 
to  prove  all  I  ask,  in  behalf  of  pathetism. 

(2.)  The  sight.  This  faculty  may  be  improved,  we  know, 
in  the  waking  state,  by  practice,  as  when  mutes  are  compel- 
led to  depend  upon  this  sense  to  supply  the  deficiency  in  hear- 
ing. We  have  seen  an  account  of  one  who,  from  long  prac- 
tice in  reading  the  telegraphic  language  of  the  deaf  and  dumb, 
had  acquired  a  quickness  of  sight,  which  enabled  him  to  read 
the  evanescent  writ-ing,  made  by  the.  fore  finger  of  another  in 
the  air,  with  the  rapidity  of  thought. 

The  power  of  sight  may  be  increased  or  diminished  by  pa* 
thetism,  and  when  the  patient  is  thrown  into  a  state  of  som- 
nipathy,  it  would  seem  to  be  often  taken  from  the  eye  and 
transferred  to  the  ends  of  the  fingers,  and  some  are  said  to  be 
able  to  see  also,  from  the  end  of  their  toes.  In  most  cases  of 
somnipathy,  the  pupil  is  turned  upwards  in  an  unnatural  man- 
ner, and  if  the  lids  be  opened,  nothing  is  discerned  by  the  eye, 
except,  sometimes,  the  operator,  or  whatever  else  he  may  di- 
rect the  patient  to  look  at.  But,  when  somnipathists  describe 
*  London  Lancet,  Jan.  21st,  1843. 


PATHETISM.  77 

things  sometimes,  with  the  eyes  wide  open,  it  is  not  certain 
that  they  exercise  the  functions  of  the  eye ;  for,  we  know,  that 
often,  when  they  are  commanded  to  open  the  eye,  no  impres- 
sion can  be  made  upon  the  optic  nerve,  by  the  strongest  light. 
In  some  cases  the  power  of  sight  would  seem  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  epigastrium,  and  I  had  one  patient  who  in  this 
state,  could  describe  nothing  without  putting  it  to  the  pit  of 
the  stomach;  and  many  cases  are  reported  where  this  sense 
has  been,  by  catalepsy,  lost  to  the  eye,  and  strongly  developed 
in  the  region  of  the  solar  plexus. 

In  two  cases  I  have  known,  pathetism,  as  it  would  seem, 
has  given  the  power  of  sight,  or  perception,  without  touch, 
to  persons  born  blind.  One  of  these  patients  when  asleep, 
I  have  known  to  read  scores  of  names,  without  the  sense  of 
touch  or  sight,  or  hearing  ;  and  she  has  done  this  in  the  pre- 
sence of  scores  and  hundreds  of  people,  physicians  and  clergy- 
men. 

But  her  powers  of  clairvoyance  are  not  equal  to  those  of  ordi- 
nary somnipathist,  who  have  the  organs  of  natural  vision  unim- 
paired. And  she  does  not  read,  or  describe  what  is  altogether 
unknown  to  the  operator,  except  in  cases  of  sickness,  or  whea 
she  has  been  requested  to  describe  the  anatomy  of  the  human 
system;  and  this  she  has  done,  when  I  had  put  her  to  sleep, 
in  the  presence  of  medical  and  scientific  gentlemen,  and  she 
has  done  it  in  her  own  case  with  an  accuracy  which  could  not 
be  counterfeited.  Often,  when  I  have  put  her  to  sleep,  she 
has  given  the  most  minute  and  accurate  description  of  the  vi- 
tal and  mental  organs,  and  their  various  functions,  and  I  know 
that  She  gave  these  descriptions  without  any  direction  from 
me,  or  any  other  person,  and  without  even  having  had  any 
previous  knowledge  of  the  things  she  described.  She  has  de- 
scribed things  to  me,  in  the  presence  of  competent  witnesses, 
which  she  could  not  have  known  before  the  moment  when 
her  attention  was  called  to  them. 

But  in  saying  this,  I  should  add,  perhaps,  that  in  these  ca- 
ses, this  patient  often  made  mistakes,  and  gave  accounts  more 
or  less  fanciful,  of  most  things  which  she  was  requested  to 
describe. 

G* 


78  FATIIETISM. 

The  sight,  also,  may  be  increased,  in  the  waking  state,  bf 
applying  the  fingers  to  portions  of  the  brain,  and  we  have 
known  patients  whose  power  of  vision  by  the  eye  would  be- 
come much  augmented,  also,  by  the  mere  direction  of  the  op- 
erator, wlien  in  the  state  of  somnipaihy. 

(3.)  Tasting.  This  sense  may  be  controlled  more  or  less  in 
the  waking  state,  by  applying  the  fingers  to  the  organs  of  ali- 
mentivcness,  or  their  sympathetic  points.  In  other  cases,  I 
have  controlled  it  without  any  contact,  when  the  patient  was 
highly  susceptible,  and  have  known  them  to  take  water  and 
declare  it  lemonade,  tea,  &:c.,  merely  on  my  offering  it  to  them 
as  suc]i.  But  when  the  subject  is  in  a  state  of  somnipathy, 
this  faculty  is  often  found  to  be  most  strangely  perverted;  for 
any  substance  put  into  the  patient's  mouth,  is  not  tasted  at  all ; 
but  when  taken  by  his  pathetiser,  it  is  tasted,  and  the  patienx 
declares  immediately,  what  it  is.  If  the  operator  eats  an  ap- 
ple, or  a  meal,  while  his  patient  is  in  this  state,  the  latter 
gives  evidence  of  the  same  sensations,  as  if  he,  himself,  were 
eating'.  And  sometimes  they  may  be  made-  to  eat  a  hearty 
meal,  and  being  restored  to  wakefulness,  they  are  more  hun- 
gry than  before ;  but  if  the  operator  eat,  and  command  his  pa- 
tient to  be  satisfied  wiih  it,  on  waking  up,  the  patient  feels  that 
he  has  taken  a  full  meal,  though  he  has  eaten  nothing.  Some- 
times, the  sympathy  is  so  great,  that  if  you  give  the  patient 
for  instance,  an  apple,  and  if,  after  he  commences  eating  it, 
you  eat  salt  or  pepper,  the  patient  instantly  throws  away  the 
apple,  declaring  it  to  be  the  substance  you,  yourself,  are  tast- 
ing at  the  moment. 

I  placed  a  piece  of  copper  and  zinc  in  the  mouth  of  a  Somni- 
pathist,  the  one  above  and  the  other  below  the  tongue;  and 
on  bringing  them  in  contact,  he  declared  no  sensation  was  pro- 
duced ;  but  on  putting  them  in  my  own  mouth,  without  his 
knowledge,  he  seemed  considerably  afl'ected  by  it.  In  the 
Magnet  for  February,  1843,  the  case  of  two  mutes  is  described, 
who  were  thrown  into  a  state  of  somnipathy,  and  who,  while 
in  this  state,  exhibited  many  of  the  phenomena  developed  up- 
on others.  They  were  susceptible  of/asie  and /eeZzn^  through 
the  operator ;  exhibited  some  of  the  phenomena  in  phreno- 


PATHETISM.  79 

p.athy,  and  communicated  with  the  operator  by  their  usual 


signs. 


(4.)  Smell.  In  some  cases  this  sense  may  be  excited  by 
holding  the  fingers  to  what  the  French  call  the  "  wings  of  the 
nose."  When  asleep,  however,  and  someiimes  when  awake, 
like  the  other  senses,  already  noticed,  it  seems  to  be  perverted, 
or  singularly  transferred,  to  different  parts  of  the  patient's  own 
system,  or  to  the  olfactory  nerves  of  the  operator.  I  have  had 
somnipathists,  who  could  detect  the  smell  of  substances,  by 
holding  them  in  the  hand,  and  yet,  the  strongest  ammonia, 
held  to  their  nostrils  while  they  were  breathing  through  them, 
produced  no  visible  effect,  at  all.  But,  on  holding  it  to  the 
nostrils  of  the  operator,  they  would  be  strangled,  and  thrown 
into  convulsions. 

Being  invited  to  operate  before  a  private  commitlee,  the 
following  case  occurred.  The  chairman  had  requested  a  no- 
ted physician  to  inspect  the  proceedings,  and  had  taken  with 
him  a  phial  of  highly  concentrated  ammonia.  After  the 
patient  had  been  put  to  sleep,  the  chairman  handed  the  phial 
to  the  physician,  and  {supposing  she  could  hear,)  he  said  to 
me, — "Mr.  S.,  let  me  pinch  your  hand."  But  instead  of 
pinching  my  hand,  the  Dr.  held  the  open  phial  to  the  patient's 
n(xe  for  some  time,  during  which  she  gave  no  signs  of  the  sen- 
sation of  smell  at  all.  This  experiment  was  repealed  w'nh 
the  same  results.  I  then,  (unknown  to  the  patient)  took  the 
phial,  and  on  placing  it  to  my  own  nose,  the  patient  was  quite 
strangled,  and  thrown  into  convulsions.  Her  face  became 
quite  colored,  and  she  begged  she  might  not  be  "  compelled  to 
smell  that  hartshorn,  again,  as  it  ahvays  took  away  her  breath 


so." 


This  attempt  to  deceive  the  patient  should  and  icould  have 
been  successful,  had  she  not  been  perfectly  asleep;  and  had 
there  been  no  real  sympathy  between  her  nervous  system  and 
that  of  the  operator,  no  one  could  be  able  to  account  satisfac- 
torily, for  the  manner  in  which  she  was  affected. 

(5.)  Hearing.  This  seems  to  be  the  last  sense  which  is  af- 
fected by  ordinary  sleep,  and  the  first  which  is  reached  in  the 
change  from  common  sleep  to  wakefulness.    And  we  find,  al- 


so  PATHETISiM. 

SO,  that  it  is  the  most  difficult  one  to  be  affected  by  pathetism, 
for  we  are  frequently  able  to  produce  somnipathy,  and  even 
the  highest  degrees  of  ecstacy,  while  the  patient  retains  this 
sense,  and  heightened  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  During  the 
process  of  operating,  patients  are  frequently  annoyed  by  the 
least  noise,  and  in  a  large  number  of  cases,  where  every  other 
sense  seema  to  be  closed  by  this  process,  the  hearing  remains 
the  same,  or  more  generally  improved,  by  having  the  other 
senses  subdued,  so  that  the  attention  becomes  wholly  occu- 
pied through  this  medium.  When  it  is  completely  subdued 
in  sleep,  the  patient  hears  nothing,  except  the  voice  of  the  op- 
erator, and  often,  not  this,  unless  it  be  directed  to  him.  Thus 
I  have  often  called  the  names  of  my  patients  aloud,  while  they 
were  asleep,  but  they  did  not  seem  to  hear,  without  I  direct- 
ed the  voice  to  them,  with  the  design  that  they  should  hear. 
At  other  times  I  have  directed  patients  to  wake  up  without 
the  sense  of  hearing,  and  oncoming  back  to  the  normal  state, 
they  have  been  perfectly  deaf  Others  still,  while  they  hear 
the  sound  of  the  voice,  are  not  able  to  understand  what  is  said 
to  them  by  any  beside  the  operator,  and  sometimes,  though 
they  do  understand,  they  lack  the  power  to  answer,  or  to  give 
their  attention  to  it. 

But  when  this  sense  is  perfectly  subdued,  the  patient  may 
be  made  to  hear  any  other  persons,  either  by  their  coming  in 
contact  with  him,  or  with  the  operator,  or  by  being  directed 
by  the  latter  to  hear  what  is  said.  On  putting  an  intelligent 
physician  to  sleep,  he  could  not  distinguish  the  notes  of  a  pi- 
ano, till  I  passed  my  hands  over  the  keys;  and  at  other  times 
the  patient  can  hear  the  piano,  if  I  lay  my  hands  upon  it  when 
at  a  distance  from  him. 

Having  considered  the  effects  of  pathetism  upon  the  five 
senses,  in  detail,  let  us  now  proceed  to  some  of  the  changes 
observed  from  this  process  upon  : 

2.  The  Muscles.  One  of  the  first  effects  noticed  upon  the 
muscles  is,  that  the  will  of  the  subject  cannot  control  them. — 
They  are  rendered  perfectly  rigid,  and  put  into  any  imagina- 
ble position,  from  which  the  patient  finds  it  impossible  to 
change  them.     Passing  the  hand  down  the  arm,  and  occa- 


PATHETISM.  81 

sionallv  claspinsr  it  with  both  hands,  carrying  it  downward,  at 
the  same  time,  will,  often,  render  it  so  rigid  that  it  w^ill  re- 
main an  indefinite  Jengih  of  time,  in  any  position  where  the 
operator  places  it.  And,  when  a  sympathetic  relation  has  be- 
come sufficiently  established  between  the  operator  and  sub- 
ject, the  former  may,  by  a  mere  effort  of  his  will,  render  the 
limbs,  and  the  entire  muscular  system  of  the  latter,  as  rigid  as 
if  frozen,  aid  contract  them  or  extend  them  to  such  a  degree, 
that  they  cannot  be  altered  without  manifest  injury  to  the  sys- 
tem. This  may  be  done,  while  the  subject  is  either  awake  or 
asleep,  and  the  strength  of  the  limbs  may  be  increased  some- 
times ten-fold  beyond  what  can  be  put  forth  by  the  subject  ia 
the  normal  state. 

3.  The  Nerves.  By  all  persons  who  have  heretofore  writ- 
ten on  this  subject,  it  has  been  assumed,  as  a  matter  of  intui- 
tion, that  what  I  denom'm^le pathetism,  or  the  "human  influ- 
ence," is  conveyed  from  one  system  to  another  by  the  nerves 
of  sensation,  or  motion,  or  both.  Hence  it  has  been  called  the 
"  nervous  fluid,"  "  neuraura,"  kc.  But  no  one  of  these  theo- 
rists have  ever  been  able  to  tell  which  class  of  the  nerves, 
convey  or  receive  this  influence.  Are  they  the  nerves  of  sen- 
sation ?  ,  We  have  already  seen  that  the  process  of  pathetis- 
ing  most  generally  suspends  the  function  of  these  nerves, 
entirely/.  Are  they  the  nerves  of  motion  ?  This  process  usu- 
ally suspends  the  power  of  locomotion,  and,  indeed,  all  vol- 
untary muscular  motion  throughout  the  system.  Hence  the 
conclusion  is  inevitable,  that  a  distinct  class  of  organs  or  nerves 
exist,  constituting  a  part  of  the  medullary  matter,  probably, 
whose  functions  are  purely  symvathelic.  This  accounts  for 
the  effects  of  pathetism,  and  shows  how  it  is  that  sensations 
are  conveyed  from  the  pathetiser  to  hissomnipathist,  without 
contact,  and  when  the  latter  is  wholly  insensible  to  pain  from- 
violence  done  to  the  nerves  of  sensation.  By  this  process  the 
function  is  suspended,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  subject  may 
be  made  to  suffer  more  from  mere  sympathy  with  the  opera- 
tor than  he  would  from  violence  to  his  own  sys'.em.  All  the 
sympathetic  nervous  sensibilities  are  heightened  to  an  extra- 
ordinary degree,  while  the  functions  of  the  other  nerves  are 
partially  or  wholly  suspended. 


82  TATHETISM. 

4.  It  is  certain,  that  all  the  organs  concerned  in  the  func- 
tions o{  animal  life  may  be  affected,  and  their  action  modified 
or  increased  by  pathetism.  The  stomach,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
reached  by  operating  on  the  organs  of  alimentiveness,  and 
in  some  persons  we  have  found  other  contiguous,  sympathe- 
tic points,  through  which  the  same  effects  could  be  produced, 
or  its  action  reversed,  and  fits  of  vomiting  brought  on. 

The  lungs  are  usually  more  or  less  affected,  either  directly 
or  sympathetically,  by  this  process.  By  placing  the  fingers  on 
the  points  in  the  face  where  the  hectic  flush  appears  in  phthi- 
sis, I  have  often  relieved  the  lungs;  and  by  a  similar  process 
the  respiration  and  exspiration  may  be  increased  or  diminished. 
Not  unfrequently,  patients  will  be  affected  more  or  less  in  the 
organs  of  respiration,  by  the  simple  process  of  pathetising  with- 
out any  such  design,  and  sometimes,  severe  convulsions  en- 
sue. These  effects  followed  most  of  Mesmer's  operations,  but 
they  are  not  the  necessary  results,  and  seem  generally  to  come 
on,  either  through  the  fear  or  anxiety  of  the  patient,  or  the 
want  of  skill  or  health  in  the  operator. 

All  the  circulations  may  be  affected,  according  to  the  sus- 
ceptibility of  the  patient.  I  have  increased  the  pulse  to  150 
or  more,  and  reduced  it  so  low,  that  it  could  not  be  perceived 
at  all,  and  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  it  ceased  for  a  few  moments 
entirely. 

I  have  also  produced  action  in  the  kidneys,  and  defecation. 
And,  in  a  word,  the  functions  of  the  different  vital  organs, 
may  be  controlled  by  this  agency  in  all  susceptible  subjects, 
to  a  degree,  which  is  truly  astonishing  to  such  as  have  not 
made  themselves  familiar  Avith  its  influence. 

We  have  only  to  ascertain  the  portions  of  the  brain,  or 
those  sympathetic  points  in  the  system,  which  correspond 
with  any  given  organ,  and  it  is  just  as  easy  to  produce  any 
degreeof  excitement  or  change  in  the  functions  of  these  organs, 
as  it  is  to  affect  the  patient  at  all.  Nor,  indeed,  is  this  always 
necessary,  for  in  many  cases,  the  sympathetic  relations  of  the 
system,  are  so  fully  developed,  that  decided  changes  may  be 
produced  in  any  of  the  animal  functions,  merely  by  operating 
on  the  general  susceptibilities  of  the  system,  and  passing  the 


PATHETISM.  83 

hand  over  the  part  where  the  disease  is  located.     In  this  way 
many  extraordinary  cures  have,  undoubtedly,  been  effected. 

5,  The  Mental  Organs.  Whatever  effects  are  produced  by 
operating  directly  upon  the  vital,  or  mechanical  organs,  the 
cerebral  organs,  yield,  more  or  less,  by  sympathy,  in  the  gen- 
eral results.  Thus,  if  you  make  the  passes  over  the  arm  till 
it  becomes  rigid,  the  brain  loses  all  control  over  that  limb. — 
And,  if  you  operate  on  any  other  portion  of  the  body,  the  brain 
sympathises  in  the  effects  produced,  more  or  less;  and  indeed, 
there  is  no  conceivable  emotion,  feeling  or  passion,  nor  any  ac- 
tion either  of  the  human  body,  or  of  animals,  fowls,  or  fish,  that 
a  susceptible  subject  may  not  be  made  to  imitate  by  this  agen- 
cy. Dancing,  laughing,  singing,  weeping,  scolding,  fighting, 
praying,  leaping  with  joy,  or  raving  with  madness,  swimming 
like  a  fish,  crawling  like  a  snake,  hopping  like  the  frog;  and, 
indeed,  any  other  conceivable  action  or  noise  peculiar  to  any 
living  creature,  may  be  brought  out  of  subjects  who  are  high- 
ly susceptible.  In  one  moment  they  may  be  rendered  wholly 
insensible  to  pain,  and  perfectly  reckless  as  to  their  persons 
and  character;  in  the  next,  so  exquisitely  sensitive  that  they 
feel  like  being  crushed  by  the  weight  of  a  feather,  and  so  fear- 
ful that  the  breath  is  well  nigh  suspended,  lest  it  should  ex- 
pose them  to  some  dreadful  impending  catastrophe. 

The  effects  produced  by  operating  directly  upon  the  sepa- 
rate cerebral  functions,  will  be  noticed  in  a  succeeding  chap- 
ter, under  the  head  of  Phrenopathy. 

6.  Consciousness.  My  control  over  the  consciousness  of 
patients,  is  just  in  proportion  to  the  susceptibility.  The  func- 
tions of  all  the  mental  organs  may  be  increased  to  insanity,  or 
subdued  into  a  state  of  perfect  repose,  where  the  patient  seems 
lost  to  this  world,  as  really  as  though  he  had  ceased  to  live. 
And  from  this  state  of  unconsciousness,  he  may  be  waked  up 
as  it  were,  into  another  world,  where  all  his  feelings,  views  and 
perceptions,  differ,  toto  csslo,  from  those  peculiar  to  him  in  his 
normal  condition.  In  this  slate  he  may  sometimes  be  made 
to  take  cognizance  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  his  operator, 
and  those  in  relation  with  himself.  Sometimes  he  perceives 
distant  persons,  places,  and  things,  and  describes  with  accu- 


S4  PATHETISM. 

racy,  objects  of  which  neither  he  nor  any  other   person  pre- 
sent had  any  previous  knowledge. 

If  he  be  diseased  himself,  he  will  often  point  out  the  seat 
and  the  cause  of  the  difficulty,  and  direct  to  the  appropriate 
means  for  a  cure.  Or  if  his  atleniion  be  called  to  the  disease 
of  another,  whether  present  or  absent,  he  sometimes  gives  the 
diagnosis  with  surprising  accuracy  ;  and  the  menial  characters 
and  particular  habits  and  peculiar  dispositions  of  persons  are 
described  in  the  same  way,  of  whom  neither  himself  nor  opera- 
tor could  have  had  any  knowledge  beforehand. 

Sometimes  somnipathists  remember  all  that  look  place,  in 
the  sleeping  state ;  but  generally,  they  remember  nothing,  ex- 
cept such  things  as  the  operator  impresses  upon  the  memory. 
And  on  the  minds  of  some,  almost  any  imaginable  impressions 
iTiay  be  made,  when  asleep,  and  when  in  the  normal  state, 
the  whole  seems  to  them  as  a  reality.  If  directed  to  forget 
their  own  names,  or  places  of  residence,  or  any  thing  else, 
which  they  had  ever  known,  these  results  sometimes  follow, 
and  I  have  known  such  impressions  to  remain  for  months, 
and  in  one  case,  for  a  year,  at  least. 

One  of  the  most  singular  effects  produced  upon  the  mind,  is 
the  change  in  the  feelings,  peculiar  to  somnipathists,  while  in 
this  state.  A  lady,  whom  I  cured  of  insanity,  conversed  with 
rae  freely  about  her  mental  difficulties,  and  the  causes  which 
bad  contributed  to  bring  them  on,  but  she  cautioned  me  so- 
lemnly, against  suffering  her  to  know  any  thing  about  it  in  her 
waking  state;  and  she  extended  this  injunction  to  every  thing 
she  said  or  saw  in  her  sleep,  as  she  declared,  that  for  her  to 
know  in  her  normal  state,  anything  of  what  she  said  or  did  in 
her  sleep,  would  have  a  tendency  to  augment  her  mental  aber- 
rations; and  her  predictions  were,  unhappily,  verified  by  the 
malicious  interference  of  a  professed  friend,  who,  wishing  to 
prejudice  her  mind  against  the  process  by  which  she  had  been 
relieved,  told  her  of  things  she  had  said  in  her  sleep,  and  it 
excited  her  mind  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  induced  partial  in- 
sanity ;  and  since  that,  she  has  obstinately  refused  to  submit 
asain  to  this  method  of  cure. 

Others  will  speak  freely  of  the  habits  and  feelings,  when 


PATHETISM.  85 

asleep,  and  disclose  matters  which  they  would  on  no  account 
consent  to  have  known  when  awake.  This  they  will  do,  at 
times,  both  of  themselves  and  others. 

Though  the  mental  perceptions  of  moral  relations  and  du- 
ties seem  to  be  considerably  heightened  in  this  state  in  the 
generality  of  subjects,  yet  I  have  usually  found  that  somnipa- 
thists  carry  with  them,  into  this  state,  many  of  their  ordinary 
views  and  peculiar  prejudices.  I  knew  a  skeptic,  who,  when 
asleep,  maintained  hisdeistical  views,  and  advocated  also,  the 
doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls,  affirming,  that  he  had 
lived  in  a  number  of  bodies,  previous  to  his  appearance  in  the 
one  he  now  occupied. 

But  how  does  it  come  to  pass,  that  while  somnipathists  are 
found  to  be  so  clairvoyant,  in  respect  to  things  at  a  distance, 
they  maybe,  at  the  same  time,  so  strangely  deceived  with  re- 
gard to  the  nature  of  things  they  hold  in  their  hand,  or  which 
they  can  test  by  the  sense  of  taste?  A  handkerchief  thrown 
into  the  lap  of  one,  becomes  a  babe,  or  a  cat,  or  a  dog,  or  snake, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  operator,  and  the  substance  is  han- 
dled by  the  patient,  with  the  same  feelings  which  he  would 
have,  on  holding  these  various  animals.  And  similar  decep- 
tions may  be  practised  upon  them  with  regard  to  persons, 
time,  and  places.  I  have  put  them  to  sleep,  and  caused  them 
to  hold  conversation  with  imaginary  persons,  or  persons  at  a 
distance,  which  have  been  carried  on  with  all  the  soberness 
of  reality,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  patient  was  more  con- 
scious of  the  presence  and  characters  of  persons  around  him 
than  he  could  have  been  in  the  normal  state. 

If  asked  the  time  of  day  by  any  particular  watch,  the  pa- 
tient will  tell  accurately,  a  dozen  times  in  succession ;  while 
at  the  same  time,  if  told  to  believe  when  he  is  waked  up,  that 
he  has  been  asleep  a  week,  he  implicitly  obeys,  and  does  not 
suspect  that  any  deception  had  been  played  upon  him.  I  di- 
rected a  patient  to  remember  on  waking  that  he  had  lived  in 
the  house  where  he  had  just  been  put  to  sleep  for  one  year, 
though  he  had  never  lived  there  one  day.  On  waking,  the 
hallucination  remained,  and  three  months  afterwards,  on  being 
asked  how  long  he  had  lived  in  that  family,  he  answered,  **  one 

H 


86  PATnETISM. 

year."  When  told  to  wake  up,  and  remain  awake,  one,  two, 
or  five  minutes,  some  somnipathists  will  obey  to  a  second,  and 
when  in  this  sleep,  if  directed  to  go  into  it  again,  at  any  fu- 
ture time,  without  being  pathetised  for  the  purpose,  they  do 
so,  and  without  any  seeming  consciousness  of  the  cause  or  the 
connection  of  one  state  with  the  other.  Some,  by  being  di- 
rected, forget  the  names  of  their  friends,  and,  indeed,  their 
own  names,  and  may  be  made  to  answer  to  any  other  name 
as  if  it  were  their  own. 

And  so  of  places.  They  may  be  made  to  believe  them- 
selves in  any  imaginable  place,  however  distant,  and  when 
told  to  remember  the  appearance  of  the  things  they  saw,  on 
waking  up,  they  describe  them  frequently,  as  the  remembrance 
of  a  dream,  and  sometimes  with  the  vividness  of  waking  con- 
sciousness. / 

7.  The  Will.  Nothing  can  be  done  without  the  will  of 
the  operator,  and  the  consent  of  the  patient.  That  is,  no  re- 
lation can  be  established,  without  the  consent  of  the  patient; 
but  when  this  relation  has  been  once  established,  effects  may 
be  produced  without  the  patient's  knowledge  or  consent. — 
This  statement,  however,  should  be  received  with  some  cau- 
tion. It  is  not,  by  any  means,  true,  in  a  general  sense,  that 
one  person  can  put  another  to  sleep  against  his  ivill ;  especi- 
ally if  the  subject  has  never  been  previously  pathetised.  Be- 
fore the  will  of  one  person,  without  physical  contact,  can  ex- 
ert much  of  any  influence  upon  another,  so  as  to  produce  any 
of  the  effects  we  have,  now,  under  consideration,  a  posi- 
tive relation  must  be  established  between  the  parties. 

We  have  seen,  that  the  will  controls  the  susceptibility ;  and 
hence,  when  a  relation  once  exists  between  the  susceptibility 
of  the  subject  and  the  will  of  the  operator,  the  former  when 
sulTiciently  developed,  may  be  made  to  obey  the  latter.  Some- 
times the  will  may  be  made  known  to  the  patient  by  words 
or  signs,  or  communicated  through  a  piece  of  paper,  or  any 
other  substance;  so  that  by  sending  a  finger  ring,  for  instance, 
when  the  patient  is  a  mile  or  more  distant,  I  have  produced  a 
state  of  somnipathy.  At  other  times,  this  state  may  be  in- 
duced without  any  other  means,  than  a  mere  effort  of  the  will. 


PATHETISM.  87 

"wtiea,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  the  patient  could 
have  no  knowledge,  either  of  the  presence  or  design  of  the  op- 
erator. When  subjects  have  gone  to  sleep  at  a  distance  from 
the  operator,  it  is  not  easy  to  prove,  that  they  may  not  have 
been  thinking  of  his  designs,  and  thus  have  fallen  into  this 
state  from  an  apprehension  of  his  wishes,  as  I  have  known 
some  to  do.  But  other  cases  have  come  under  my  notice, 
where,  as  far  as  could  be  known,  the  patient  went  to  sleep 
without  the  slightest  knowledge  or  apprehension  of  the  oper- 
ator's presence  or  design.  So,  that  it  must  be  confessed,  that 
a  highly  susceptible  subject  may  be  put  to  sleep,  sometimes, 
at  least,  by  mere  volition,  when  the  operator  is  not  present ; 
but  this  can  happen  only  in  peculiar  cases,  as  I  have  already 
stated- 

That  some  somnipathists  may  be  made  to  ob^y  the  wilKof 
the  operator,  cannot  admit  of  any  doubt.  I  do  not  say,  that 
they  can  be  willed  to  do  things  that  are  disagreeable  to  them, 
but  they  may  be  made  willing  to  do  many  things  they  could 
not  be  made  willing  to  do  in  the  normal  state.  And  hence,  it 
should  be  known,  that  the  person  who  submits  to  this  process 
by  another,  of  whose  health,  character,  and  other  necessary 
qualifications  he  is  not  well  assured,  runs  a  hazard  far  more 
dangerous  than  the  patient  who  merely  swallows  the  nostrum 
of  the  quack,  of  whom  he  knows  nothing;  and  that  just  so  far 
as  this  operation  is  successful,  just  so  far  he  receives  the  im- 
press, as  it  were,  of  the  operator's  heart.  The  mental  dispo- 
sition of  the  latter  has  much  to  do  with  the  impression  made 
on  the  person  who  is  put  into  the  somnipathic  state.  Of  this 
fact  I  have  had  numerous  demonstrations,  which  leave  no 
room  for  the  shadow  of  a  doubt.  All  therefore  should  under- 
stand what  results  may  follow,  and  those  which  do  alicai/s  fol-] 
low,  the  influence  Avhichis  exerted  upon  them  by  pathetism.  ^ 
That  influence  may,  and  should  be  good,  and  nothing  but  -i 
good ;  but  this  will  depend,  of  course,  upon  the  health,  skill,  ] 
and  wio^zfes  of  the  operator. 

It  is  not  yet  agreed,  among  those  familiar  with  this  sub- 
ject, whether  the  influence  exerted  on  the  subject  when  he  is 
put  to  sleep,  be  purely  physical,  or  mental,  or  both.     By  mea- 


88  PATIIETISM. 

tal  influence,  is  understood  an  eflbrt,  me?-g/y,  of  the  will,  with- 
out giving  any  visible  signs  of  it  to  the  patient.  Tlie  truth 
is,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an  effort  of  the  will  without 
an  exercise  of  the  physical,  or  cerebral  organs.  We  have  al- 
ready seen,  that  the  mind  never  acts  without  the  brain,  and 
how  it  is,  that  the  mind  and  the  susceptibility  reciprocally 
affect  each  other.  We  have  no  evidence  that  a  mere  volition 
without  any  previous  physical  contact,  ever  induced  a  real 
case  of  somnipathy.  Effects  have  been  noticed,  we  know,  that 
seemed  to  come  very  near  such  a  case;  as  it  is  well  known, 
how  powerful  an  influence  may  sometimes  be  exerted  by  the 
look  of  the  eye,  and  from  the  features  of  the  face;  but  I  am 
not  ready  to  believe,  that  the  will  of  one  person  could  be  ex- 
erted to  such  an  extent  over  the  susceptibility  of  another 
without  any  previous  physical  contact.  Nor  is  it  true,  that 
sleep  could  be  induced  without  the  operator's  willing  directly 
or  indirectly  to  bring  it  on.  But  how  much  influence  the  will 
may  have  excited,  in  certain  cases,  it  would  not  be  possible  to 
show.  When  I  merely  put  a  patient  in  a  peculiar,  sitting, 
recumbent,  or  standing  posture,  and  lead  him  to  anticipate  re^ 
]ief  from  pain  or  sleep  as  the  result,  without  ivilling  him  in 
any  other  sense,  of  course,  my  will  has  something  to  do  with  the 
effects,  if  any  are  produced;  but  evidently,  not  what  has  been 
supposed  by  many,  heretofore.  When  the  patient  is  in  a  state 
of  somnipathy,  and  the  relation  is  sufficiently  strong,  he  may 
be  made  to  obey  the  mere  volitions  of  the  operator,  in  various 
ways,  and  hence  it  is  quite  common  for  the  subject  to  walk, 
raise  the  limbs,  open  his  eyes,  and  perform  various  evolutions 
when  simply  willed  to  do  so  by  the  operator.  Nor  is  this  pow- 
er confined  to  the  sleeping  state;  as  I  have  found  it  equally 
easy  to  exert  a  similar  influence  over  susceptible  subjects 
when  awake.  The  only  difference  between  them,  is,  in  the 
latter  case  it  is  not  so  easy  to  communicate  the  wishes  to  the 
subject  without  some  visible  or  audible  sign;  but  when  he  is 
by  any  means,  made  to  understand  what  my  wishes  are,  they 
are  obeyed;  and  I  have  as  much  control  over  the  limbs  and 
muscles,  as  in  a  state  of  perfect  somnipathy. 
Without  the  will  of  the  operator,  when  restored  to  his  wak- 


PATHETISM.  89 

ing  State,  the  patient  sometimes  remembers  nothing  said  or  done 
to  him  in  his  state  o^ sormiipathy  ;  nay,  his  own  will,  the  ma- 
chinery  of  his  own  mental  operations,  is  frequently  found  to 
have  been  completely  under  the  will  of  the  operator.  For  in- 
stance: the  operator  says  to  his  patient,  while  in  a  state  of 
somnipathy,  "  to-morrow,  at  nine  o'clock,  you  must  read  the 
14th  chapter  of  St.  John."  The  patient  is  waked  up,  but  re- 
members nothing  of  this  direction  till  precisely  nine  o'clock 
the  succeeding  day,  Avhen  he  feels  singularly  inclined  to  read 
that  particular  chapter,  and  when  the  moment  arrives  he  opens 
the  Bible  and  reads  it.  Again  :  the  operator  says  to  his  pa- 
tient, when  asleep,  "  to-morrow,  at  such  an  hour,  you  must 
go  into  this  state  again,  or  at  such  an  hour  you  must  fall  into 
a  state  of  natural  sleep,  and  sleep  just  so  many  hours  and  thea 
wake  up."  The  patient  obeys  to  the  very  letter,  and  this,  too, 
without  being,  in  the  meantime,  able  to  give  any  reasoa  for 
what  he  feels  inclined  to  do. 

In  such  case  it  is  seen  that  the  will  of  the  operator  is  so 
thoroughly  impressed  upon  the  subject,  that  he  not  only  obeys 
while  asleep,  but  this  obedience  is  carried  from  his  sleeping 
to  the  natural  state  of  wakefulness. 

8.  Disposition  and  Character.  I  have  had  numerous  cases 
which  would  seem  to  prove,  that  the  disposition  and  charac- 
ter of  susceptible  subjects  may  be  controlled  for  some  time  af- 
ter the  operation  of  pathetising. 

A  gentleman  called  on  me  who  appeared  to  be  in  great  trou- 
ble; and  with  some  reluctance  stated,  that  his  wife,  (other- 
wise an  amiable  woman)  had  long  been  addicted  to  habits  of 
intoxication.  On  informing  him  that  I  thought  it  possible  I 
might  help  her,  either  by  advice,  or  by  the  influence  of  pathe- 
tism,  or  both,  he  brought  her  to  see  me.  At  the  second  sit- 
ting she  w'ent  into  a  sound  sleep;  and  by  suppressijig  the  ac- 
tivity of  certain  portions  of  the  brain,  and  exciting  their  nega- 
tive organs,  she  declared  that  she  had  no  conceivable  disposi- 
tion to  taste  or  touch  stimulating  drink  of  any  kind.  It  is  now 
a  year  since,  and  she  has  remained  thus  far  perfcctl}'"  cured. 

I  was  called  on  to  operate  upon  a  patient  who  had  been 
quite  insane,  and  strongly  inclined  to  suicide.     In  her  sleep 

H* 


90  PATHETISM. 

she  frankly  described  her  temptations,  and  declared,  that  she 
would  probably  put  an  end  to  her  existence,  unless  her  feelings 
upon  that  subject  were  very  much  changed,  which  she  in- 
formed me,  was  in  my  power  to  do.  The  effort  proved  suc- 
cessful, and  since  that  time  it  is  not  known  that  she  has  been 
at  all  disposed  in  that  way.  Another  of  my  patients  had  been 
sunk  in  a  state  of  mental  despair,  for  six  years.  She  had  been 
previously,  quite  zealous  in  religion,  and  during  that  time,  she 
was  known  frequently  to  "lose  her  strength,"  as  it  is  called, 
when  she  would  appear  to  be  exceedingly  happy,  and  remain 
hours  in  a  state  of  apparent  catalepsy.  On  pathetising  her,  I 
not  only  removed  her  despair,  but  by  exciting  some  of  the  or- 
gans, she  declared  herself  perfectly  happy,  and  what  is  re- 
markable, when  I  excited  a  particular  organ,  she  instantly  lost 
her  strength  and  her  limbs  became  rigid,  precisely  as  she  was 
formerly  affected,  under  religious  excitement.  Indeed,  she 
declared  the  two  states  to  he  precisely  the  same.  This  was  a 
year  ago,  and  thus  far,  I  believe,  her  despair  has  not  returned. 

Other  cases  have  come  to  my  knowledge  of  a  similar  kind, 
which  leave  no  room  to  doubt,  but  that  the  character,  and 
mental  disposition  of  persons,  who  are  highly  susceptible,  may 
be  controlled,  almost  to  any  extent  by  this  agency.  And  this 
follows  as  a  matter  of  course,  if  we  may  control  the  separate 
cerebral  organs;  and  just  as  far  as  we  may  be  able  to  cause 
the  impressions  to  remain,  the  influence  must  appear  in  the 
character  of  the  patient. 

One  or  two  cases  of  a  similar  influence  are  detailed  in  the 
Magnet  for  November,  1842,  by  Mr.  L.  N.  Fowler.  A  highly 
susceptible  lady,  had  long  complained  of  a  poor  appetite. — 
He  put  her  to  sleep,  excited  alimentiveness,  and  after  willing 
her  to  have  a  good  appetite,  waked  her  up.  On  visiting  her 
a  month  afterwards,  he  was  informed  by  her  and  her  husband, 
that  she  never  had  a  better  appetite,  that  she  had  not  missed 
a  meal  since  he  last  saw  her,  and  that  she  had  no  desire  lor 
tea,  coffee,  or  cucumbers,  of  which  before  he  put  her  mind 
against  them  she  was  verv  fond.  Her  husband  added,  that 
after  being  pathetised,  she  ate  more  in  one  day,  than  in  three 
before.     Formerly,  she  had  a  great  passion  for  reading,  so 


PATHETISM.  91 

much  SO,  that  it  amounted  to  dissipation,  and  injured  her 
health.  Mr.  F.  willed  her  in  the  sleep  not  to  read  but  little; 
if  she  did  he  would  cause  her  to  be  confused  and  sleepy. — 
From  that  time  she  lost  about  two  thirds  of  her  relish  for  read- 
ing. After  reading  a  few  minutes  she  became  tired  and  sleepy, 
and  unable  to  finish  the  article  she  commenced. 

Mr.  F.  pathetised  a  young  lady  with  small  veneration,  which 
organ  he  excited,  and  willed  her  to  say  her  prayers  every  night 
before  retiring.  She  informed  him  afterwards,  that  she  was 
unable  to  go  to  bed  until  she  had  said  her  prayers.  He  exci- 
ted time  and  tune  in  another  person,  and  the  influence  was  ap- 
parent three  days  afterwards. 

9.  Disease.  It  would  swell  this  volume  to  an  undue  size 
to  attempt  a  detail  of  particular  cases,  which  have  yielded  to 
pathetism.  That  it  has  been  successfully  applied  after  the 
usual  courses  of  medical  treatment  had  long  been  tried  in  vain, 
is  well  known.  And  why  not,  when  it  u  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple laid  down  by  the  highest  medical  authors,  that  "  all  dis- 
eases must  be  cured  bi/  the  inherent  energies  of  the  living  si/s- 
tem ;  and  that  medicine  can  do  no  more  than  place  the  body 
in  the  most  favorable  circumstances  for  resisting  disease." 

Whatever,  therefore,  tends  to  assist  the  "  inherent  energies 
of  the  living  system,"  in  the  greatest  degree,  must  be  the 
best  remedial  agent  for  the  subject;  and  that  pathetism  does 
this  in  many  cases,  is  a  fact  susceptible  of  the  clearest  demon- 
stration. And  it  is  an  observation  common  to  the  most  intel- 
ligent and  experienced  pathetisers,  that  the  only  legitimate 
application  of  this  influence  is  in  the  cure  of  disease  and  the 
relief  of  human  suffering.  Hence  those  efibrts  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  these  objects  have  always  proved  far  more 
successful,  than  such  experiments  as  have  been  carried  on 
merely  to  gratify  an  unjustifiable  curiosity.  And  hence,  also, 
somnipathists  will,  usually,  be  found  more  ready  and  able  to 
describe  their  own  diseases,  or  the  cases  of  others  who  need  re- 
lief, than  to  test  their  clairvoyance  in  describing  places  or 
things,  merely. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  diseases  which,  to  my  know- 
ledge, have  been  successfully  treated,  or  greatly  relieved  by  this 


92  PATIIETISM. 

process  :  Ilead-achc,  Sick  Head-ache,  Rheumatism,  Paralysis, 
Pulmonary  AlTections,  Pain  in  dillerent  parts  of  the  system, 
Spinal  AfToctions,  Swollen  Throat,  Laryngiles,  Chorea,  Liver 
Complaint,  Neuralgia,  Spasms,  Fits,  Hysteria,  Cholera  Mor- 
bus, Burns,  Loss  of  Voice,  Hypochondria,  Madness,  Insanity, 
Monomania,  Liflammalion,  Tooth-ache,  Contractions  of  the 
Muscles,  Troublesome  Sleep,  Epilepsy,  Intoxication,  Deliri- 
um Tremens. 

As  an  anodyne,  or  for  producing  a  state  of  quietude,  and 
calming  the  nervous  system,  pathetism  may  be  used,  prob- 
ably, with  greater  advantage  than  almost  any  other  remedy. 
And,  as  an  auxilliary  to  the  common  medical  agents,  it  has 
claims  which  should  entitle  it  to  the  serious  examination  of  all 
who  make  any  pretensions  to  knowledge  of  the  healing  art. 

10.     Anomalous  Results.     I  say  anomalous  results,  though 
I  am  confident  that  all  that  could  be  put  down  under  this  head, 
might  be  traced  to  the  laws  of  Sympathy  and  Antipathy,  ^ 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  governs  the  various  susceptibilities 
of  the  living  body. 

But  these  different  effects  should  be  examined,  in  order  to 
determine  how  far  they  may  be  supposed  to  be  produced  by 
any  of  the  known  laws  of  magnetism  or  electricity;  or  whe- 
ther they  are  produced  by  nervous  induction,  or  the  communi- 
cation of  a  nervous  substance,  from  the  operator  into  the  sys- 
tem of  the  patient. 

(1.)  By  the  process  of  pathetising.  There  are  numerous 
mysteries  attending  a  state  of  somnipathy,  not  particularly 
noticed  in  the  preceding  pages.  For  instance,  numbers  whom 
I  have  put  into  this  state  have,  while  in  it,  inquired  ichy  we 
called  it  a  state  of  sleep  ?  They  have  insisted  that  it  was  not 
a  state  of  sleep,  at  all.  One  patient  while  in  this  state,  does 
not  remember  he  was  ever  in  any  other  state;  and  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  all  the  ordinary  avenues  to  the  senses  are  fast  clo- 
sed. He  can  neither  see,  hear,  smell,  taste,  nor  feel,  without 
the  consent  of  the  operator.  How  is  this  ?  He  is  alive;  he 
can  be  made  conscious  of  things,  can  be  made  to  have  clear 
and  distinct  perceptions  of  distant  objects,  which  neither  he 
nor  the  operator  ever  saw ! 


PATHETISM.  93 

And  then,  again,  the  various  ways  in  which  different  per- 
sons are  affected  by  similar  processes,  would  seem  to  set  all 
rules  at  defiance. 

One  has  a  sense  of  heat,  another  of  cold ;  another  is  put  to 
sleep,  and  another  is  convulsed  from  head  to  foot.  One  pa- 
tient remembers  nothing  in  his  waking  state  which  took  place 
in  his  sleep,  except  what  he  is  directed  to  remember  by  the 
operator;  another  remembers  everything;  a  third  remembers 
nothing  at  one  time  in  the  somnipathic  state,  which  took  place 
in  a  previous  state  of  somnipathy  ;  but  it  is  not  so  with  the 
fourth,  who  remembers  every  thing  done  in  the  same  stale  at 
all  previous  sittings.  Another  patient  remembers  everything 
in  the  sleeping  state,  from  one  time  to  another,  except  what 
he  is  made  to  do  by  the  excitement  of  any  one  of  the  mental 
organs;  but  what  he  does  under  these  excitements,  he  never 
has  any  recollection  of,  except  when  the  same  organs  are  again 
excited. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  in  some  the  somnipathic  state  differs 
so  essentially  from  the  waking  state,  while  in  others  it  seems 
scarcely  to  differ  at  all.  Indeed,  some,  I  know,  seem  to  be  in 
a  state  resembling  somnipathy  nearly  or  quite  all  the  time. — 
I  know  an  intelligent  lady,  who  assures  me  that  she  is  frequent- 
ly conscious  of  being  in  two  different  states,  in  which  her  per- 
ceptions of  things  are  arrived  at  by  entirely  different  mental 
processes. 

Many  have,  no  doubt,  been  greatly  misled  by  what  has  been 
supposed  to  be  the  effects  of  the  passes.  But  I  am  certain  that 
the  best  way  of  putting  persons  to  sleep,  is  without  any  passes, 
or  any  contact  with  the  patient  at  all;  nor,  indeed,  are  they 
necessary  in  relieving  pain,  where  the  susceptibility  is  suffi- 
ciently developed.  I  do  not  mean,  that  any  one  has  ever  been 
put  to  sleep  by  a  mere  mental  effort  who  had  never  been  op- 
erated upon  before,  as  I  have  already  stated,  for  it  is  yet  to  be 
determined,  as  to  how  much  the  wills  of  the  operator  and  the 
patient  have  to  do  in  bringing  about  the  results  under  notice. 
I  have  frequently  known  persons  to  become  considerably  affect- 
ed on  witnessing  for  the  first  time,  the  process  of  pathetising 
on  others.     This  I  can  easily  explain,  on  the  supposition  thai 


Oi  PATHETISM. 

this  susceptihiJiLy,  and  the  agency  by  which  we  operate,  are 
traceable  into  that  state  of  the  system  which  gives  rise  to 
what  has  been  denominated  sympathy.  Some,  we  know,  man- 
ifest sympathetic  phenomena,  who  were  never  trained  or  in- 
formed about  it  in  any  way;  while  others  manifest  nothing  of 
it,  and  for  the  simple  reason,  that  their  susceptibilities  are  not 
of  the  right  kind. 

Every  person  much  familiar  with  pathetisra,  knows  that 
the  effects  often  produced  on  the  cerebral  organs  do  not  depend 
merely  upon  any  influence  conveyed  from  the  hand  of  the  op- 
erator. Results  of  this  kind  vary,  and  these  "  variations"  may 
be  carried  almost  to  any  extent. 

The  same  mental  results  are  produced  in  different  cases,  by 
touching  different  places  on  the  head,  and  in  some  cases,  all 
or  most  of  the  mental  manifestations  are  brought  out,  by  merely 
touching  the  toes^  joints,  fingers,  and  different  portions  of  the 
body,  without  any  contact  with  the  head.  Touching  the  fin- 
gers of  one  patient,  produces  anger,  love,  mirth,  &c.  Touch- 
ing the  same  fingers  of  another,  the  hand  is  moved  in  certain 
mathematical  lines;  and  a  third,  declares  that  touching  his 
fingers,  each  one  gives  off  or  receives  a  different  influence,  like, 
or  identical  with  electricity,  magnetism  and  galvanism  ! 

But,  for  these  different  and  ever  varying  results,  in  subjects 
both  awake  and  asleep,  neither  the  magnetic  nor  the  neurau- 
ra  theories  render  any  satisfactory  account,  as  they  do  not, 
indeed,  for  numberless  other  phenomena,  which  so  complete- 
ly annihilate  many  other  beautiful  castles,  which  have  been  so 
ingeniously  constructed  upon  a  few  isolated  facts.  It  has 
been  supposed,  that  the  true  reason  for  these  different  results, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  different  degrees  in  which  the  various 
subjects  may  have  been  pathetised.  And  I  might  think  so  too, 
probably,  had  I  not  performed  a  vast  variety  of  experiments 
which  go  far,  very  far  as  I  believe,  towards  demonstrating  the 
contrary.  Instance  the  following.  Here  is  a  person  whose 
cerebral  organs  I  can  control,  while  he  is  awake,  but  he  can- 
not be  put  to  sleep.  Another  may  be  put  to  sleep,  and  his 
cerebral  organs  cannot  be  excited  at  all.  Another  is  suscep- 
tible of  the  excitement  of  any  portion  of  the  brain,  provided  he 


PATHETISM.  95 

understands  before  hand  what  the  impression  is  you  wish  to 
produce. 

I  shall  assign  in  the  sequel  what  I  suppose  to  he  the  correct 
solution  of  these  mysteries. 

The  attraction  produced  by  pathetising,  though  real,  is  not 
reciprocal.  The  hand  of  the  operator  may,  and  often  does 
attract  the  subject,  but  the  hand  of  the  subject  does  not  at- 
tract that  of  the  operator;  and  in  some,  there  does  not  appear 
to  be  any  attraction  at  all,  though  the  subject  is  in  a  state  of 
sound  sleep. 

Different  results  are  produced  by  the  same  process  on  dif- 
ferent individuals,  both  when  awake,  and  after  they  are  asleep. 
There  are  points  in  the  face  and  neck,  and  indeed,  throughout 
the  entire  system,  which  sympathise  with  particular  portions 
of  the  brain,  and  this  fact  shows  how  it  is,  that  when  any  or» 
gan  is  controlled  in  any  way,  it  speaks  out  through  the  eyes 
or  muscles  of  the  face.  But  there  is  nothing  to  demonstrate 
the  existence  of  any  connexion  between  the  influence  convey- 
ed by  manipulation,  exclusively  through  the  nerves  either  of 
motion  or  sensation.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  understood  as  con- 
veying the  idea,  that  they  are  not  affected  by  this  influence, 
whatever  it  may  be;  but  I  know,  and  have  demonstrated  by 
numerous  experiments,  that  this  agency  is  not  confined  to  these 
nerves,  nor  exclusively  conveyed  by  them. 

It  is  well  known,  that  when  the  operator  applies  his  hand 
to  any  part  of  the  system  of  a  person  in  a  state  of  somnipathy 
neither  the  nerves  of  motion  nor  sensation  will  be  affecied 
without  he  designs  to  produce  some  such  result;  and  often, 
when  they  are  touched  by  a  third  person,  the  patient  is  not 
sensible  of  it  at  all ! 

One  somnipathist  hears  nothing  said  to  him  by  any  person 
except  the  operator,  unless  they  put  their  hands  upon  either 
him  or  the  pathetiser;  another  will  hear  anything  said  by  one 
whom  the  pathetiser  directs  or  wills  him  to  hear,  and  nothing 
else. 

Another  has  the  sense  of  feeling  so  much  developed,  that  hg 
can  tell  the  difference  in  colors  bv  it,  and  others  have  nothino- 
of  this  sense,  and  scarcely  of  any  other. 


9(3  PATIIETISM. 

*  The  truth  is,  no  two  subjects  are  affected  in  all  respects, 
alike;  and  hence  it  is  quite  easy  for  an  operator  to  be  misled 
in  forming  conclusions  from  experiments,  performed  on  a  score 
or  less  of  individuals.  I  have  found  what  appeared  to  be  a 
correspondence,  not  only  in  the  phenomena  which  are  pro- 
duced on  certain  classes  of  persons,  but  also  a  correspondence 
in  the  results  produced  by  the  same  operator  on  different  sub- 
jects. 

Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt,  but  that  many  subjects  often, 
undesignedly,  deceive  themselves  and  those  who  operate  up- 
on them.  I  have  known  some  to  affirm  they  did  not  hear, 
for  instance,  when  I  know  they  did  hear ;  and  others  have  said 
they  did  not  hear  because  they  loould  not,  and  consequently, 
refused  to  answer  when  spoken  to,  not  because  they  could  not 
hear,  but  simply  because  they  did  not  choose  to  answer. 

(2.)  The  Imponderable  Fluids.  I  include  under  this  term, 
Electricity,  Magnetism,  and  Galvanism.  And  one  remark 
should  be  made  in  the  outset,  with  regard  to  them.  It  is  this, 
that  I  have  never  known  any  results  produced  by  these  agen- 
cies upon  the  human  system,  which  had  any  resemblance  to 
the  phenomena  described  in  the  preceding  pages,  except  in  a  few 
cases,  v^here  the  subjects  had  been  previously  pathetised,  and 
a  degree  of  susceptibility,  had,  by  this  process,  been  awaken- 
ed in  the  system.  I  have  performed  .various  experiments  with 
electricity  and  the  magnet,  but  have  never  been  able  to  pro- 
duce any  decided  results,  until  I  had  pathetised  the  subject  for 
this  purpose.  And  in  all  the  effects  I  have  ever  known  or 
heard  of,  produced  by  these  agencies,  on  pathetised  subjects, 
I  have  not  been  able  to  reduce  them  to  any  of  the  known  elec- 
trical or  magnetic  forces,  but  they  would  seem  to  fall  in  with 
what  we  denominate  the  sympathetic  and  antipathetic  laws 
of  the  human  system,  enumerated  in  the  succeeding  pages  of 
this  work. 

Applying  a  pointed  steel  to  particular  organs  in  the  head 
of  some  subjects,  the  function  of  one  is  excited,  while  by  the 
same  means  another  is  suppressed ;  and  applying  the  instru- 
ment to  portions  of  the  head,  and  noticing  that  one  side  was 
repelled,  while  the  opposite  would  be  attracted,  first  led  me  to 


PATHETTSI^r.  97 

the  conclusion,  that  the  different  cerebral  organs  were  bal- 
anced in  opposition  to  each  other,  and  hence  I  called  them 
positive  and  negative.  But  nothing  of  this  kind  have  I  ever 
observed,  from  persons  who  had  not  been  previously  pathetis- 
ed.  Persons  of  extraordinary  susceptibility  will  be  affected  by 
holding  one  end  of  an  iron  bar,  in  the  hand  of  another  person; 
but  they  are  affected,  usually,  just  as  much,  if  no  one  holds  the 
other  end.  Some  have  gone  to  sleep  merely  by  holding  a 
natural  magnet  in  the  hand,  or  by  having  the  passes  made 
over  them  with  it ;  but  such  have  first  been  influenced  by  pa- 
thetism,  and  the  same  remark  is  true  of  the  case  described  in 
the  first  number  of  the  Magnet,  where  a  lady,  after  having 
been  repeatedly  pathetised,  fell  into  a  state  of  sleep  on  the  ap- 
proach of  a  thunder  cloud;  but  while  in  this  state,  her  path- 
etiser  had  the  same  influence  over  her,  as  if  he,  himself,  had 
operated  in  order  to  bring  about  the  result. 

A  highly  susceptible  subject  of  my  own,  was  affected  direct- 
ly the  reverse  of  this,  for  when  asleep,  I  had  to  wake  her  up 
on  the  approach  of  a  thunder  cloud,  and  merely  turning  an 
electrical  machine,  within  forty  feet  of  her,  when  asleep, 
would  throw  her  into  spasms. 

Some  somnipathists  are  favorably  affected  by  the  touch  of 
a  magnet  or  any  metallic  substance;  and  others  are  so  much 
disturbed  by  being  touched  by  them,  that  it  either  wakes 
them,  or  they  become  convulsed.  One  is  attracted  by  it,  and 
another  is  repelled.  The  north  pole  attracts  one  portion  of 
the  system  of  one  patient,  and  repels  the  same  portion  of  an- 
other; and  so  also  of  the  south  pole;  and,  indeed,  the  same 
effects  are  produced  by  the  application  of  any  metallic  sub- 
stance, and  sometimes,  when  the  pathetiser  merely  holds  a 
piece  of  iron,  or  steel,  in  his  own  hand,  unknown  to  the  pa- 
tient. Nor  is  it  always  true,  as  has  been  supposed,  that  ef- 
fects produced  by  the  magnet,  cannot  be  removed  without  it, 
as  we  have  had  patients,  when  affected  by  the  application  of 
any  kind  of  metal,  who  could  be  relieved  onl^  by  pathetism, 
without  any  other  means.  The  same  is  true,  with  regard  to 
minerals.     They  do  not  seem  to  be  uniform  in  their  effects 

upon  different  patients,  nor  upon  the  same  patijent,  at  differ- 
I 


98  PATHETISM. 

ent  times ;  and  never  having  been  able  to  produce  any  very 
decided  efTecfs,  either  with  minerals  or  electricity,  until  the 
subject  had  been  previously  pathelised,  and  thereby  rendered 
highly  susceptible,  or  in  a  few  cases  where  the  susceptibility 
had  been  supernaturally  developed  by  disease,  it  would  not, 
perhaps,  assist  us  much  in  this  enquiry,  to  give  the  details  o^ 
these  experiments.  The  history  of  Perkins'  Tractors  would  be 
sufficient  to  show,  that  a  susceptibility  may  be  created  in  the 
system,  which  yields  as  readily  to  a  piece  of  wood,  as  to  a 
piece  of  steel  or  brass;  and  having  now  sufficiently  prepared 
the  way,  I  proceed  to  state,  what  may  be  considered  some  of 
those  laws  of  life,  which  give  the  true  reasons  for  these  vari- 
ous influences,  exerted  by  so  many  apparently  discordant 
agents  over  the  human  body. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THEORY    OF   PATHETISM. 


What  is  the  nature  of  that  agency  which  has  generally- 
been  known  under  the  terms  Living  Magnetism,  Mesmerism, 
or  Nervous  Fluid?  Is  it  any  thing  different  from  the  ordinary 
forces  of  Electricity,  Galvanism,  or  Magnetism  ?  Or,  does  the 
human  brain  eliminate  a  fluid  or  current,  similar  to  the  mag- 
netic forces,  and  which  is  governed  by  laws  peculiar  to  itself? 
Many  theories  heve  been  fabricated  in  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions; but  still,  the  subject  would  seem  to  be  far  from  having 
been  satisfactorily  settled.  It  is,  certainly,  one  of  some  diffi- 
culty;  nor  can  we  anticipate  the  time  as  very  near,  when  sci- 
entific minds  will  give  it  that  attention  which  its  importance 
would  seem  to  demand;  and,  much  less,  that  they  will  very 
soon  agree  as  to  the  real  nature  of  this  influence,  whatever  it 
may  be. 

It  will  not  be  necessary,  perhaps,  for  me  to  attempt  a  detail 
of  the  various  theories  which  have,  from  time  to  time,  obtain- 
ed upon  this  subject.  Having  examined  some  of  the  efi"ects  of 
the  agency  I  denominate  Pathetism,  or,  as  Mr.  Townshend 
calls  it,  "  human  influence,"  we  may  now  be  able  to  judge  as 
to  what  those  laws  must  be,  by  which  such  results  are  pro- 
duced. The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  conclusions  at 
which  I  have  arrived  ;  and,  whether  they  assign  the  true  rea- 
sons for  the  phenomena  I  have  described,  or  not,  will,  of 
course,  be  left  to  the  decision  of  my  readers. 

THEORY. 

I. 
That  Animal  Life  is  an  £/emen^,"possessing  attracting  and 
resisting  forces,  peculiar  to  itself;  and  which  control  matter 
and  the  imponderable  fluids. 


100  PATHETISM. 

II. 

That  these  vital  forces,  give  those  qualities  to  'the  body 
which  constitute  a  si/mpathetic  system,  and  render  all  its 
parts  susceptible  to  sympathetic  and  antipathetic  Laws. 

ni. 

That  these  Laios  depend  upon  certain  Relations,  which  dif- 
ferent substances,  or  entities,  sustain  to  each  other. 

iv. 
That  the  nature  of  these  Relations,  between  two  or  more 
substances,  organs,  or  entities,  depends  upon  the  difference, 
or  likeness,  in  their  qualities  ox  functions. 

V. 

That  the  susceptihiUty  of  different  persons  depends  upon 
the  developments  of  the  ganglionic,  or  sympathetic  system, 
which  unites  the  mind,  and  the  nerves  of  sensation  and  mo- 
tion. 

VI. 

That  a  peculiar  connection  between  two  entities,  organs  or 
substances,  which  differ  in  certain  qualities  or  functions,  pro- 
duces a  positive  relation  or  the  law  of  sympathy.  A  connec- 
tion between  two  which  are  precisely  alike,  produces  a  nega- 
tive  relation,  or  the  law  of  antipathy.  And,  where  bodies  or 
substances  are  brought  together  which  do  not  come  up  to  a 
certain  degree  of  difference,  in  quality  or  functions,  a  neutral 
relation,  or  a  slate  oi  apathy,  is  the  result. 

VII. 

The  functions  of  the  mental  organs  are  balanced  by  contra- 
rieties, one  against  another.  That  is,  they  not  only  exist  in 
pairs,  but  in  groups,  or  families,  in  each  hemisphere  of  the 
brain  ;  and  the  pairs,  and  groups,  are  balanced  by  other  pairs 
and  groups,  whose  functions  are  directly  opposite.  On  the 
due  development  of  these  normal  relations  does  consciousness 
and  mental  power  depend.  For,  when  they  are  deficient,  or 
become  disturbed  or  exhausted,  the  results  appear  in  the 
states  of  the  mind,  such  as  idiotcy,  monomania,  i7isanity,  and 
sleep.  ->  When  the  normal  sympathetic  relations  are  disturb- 


THEORY    OF    PATHETISM.  101 

ed  between  the  cerebral  organs  and  the  nerves  of  motion  or 
sensation  in  other  parts  of  the  system,  the  results  are  shown 
in  apoplexy,  paralysis,  and  other  physical  irregularities. 

viir. 
The  mind,  and  this  susceptihility,  or  the  sympathetic  sys- 
tem, reciprocally  act  upon  each  other.  The  latter  is  the  me- 
dium  through  which  the  emotions  and  volitions  of  mind  are 
manifested,  and  through  the  same  medium  all  its  impressions 
are  received. 

vs.. 

By  establishing  a  positive  relation  between  two  persons, 
the  mind  of  one  may  thereby  control  the  susceptihility  of  the 
other ;  or  by  applying  the  hand  of  one  to  any  part  of  the  oth- 
er, different  mental  and  physical  changes,  may  thus  be  pro- 
duced. Hence  it  follows,  that  the  only  influence  extended 
from  one  mind  or  body  to  another,  depends  upon  the  kind  of 
relatio7i  established  between  them,  and  the  same  is  true, 
with  regard  to  any  influence  felt  by  the  living  body,  from  any- 
other  cause. 

X. 

A  positive  relation  is  kept  up,  between  the  vital  organs  and 
the  substances  on  which  the  system  depends  for  its  nourish- 
ment, such  as  air  and  food,  and,  also,  by  the  different  func- 
tions of  these  organs ;  and  upon  the  proper  balance  of  all  the  dif- 
ferent relations  depends  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  body. 
Their  disturbance  produces  disease,  and  their  annihilation, 
death. 

XI. 

The  muscles  and  limbs  are  moved  through  these  relations, 
which  exist  between  different  portions  of  the  same  muscles, 
and  also,  between  these  and  the  sympathetic  nerves,  through 
which  the  mind  operates.  From  which  it  follows,  that  there 
is  a  reciprocal  influence  between  the  different  nerves  and  the 
other  organs  of  the  entire  system ;  and  hence  it  is,  that  the 
state  of  one  organ,  or  part,  is  changed  by  the  state  of  another, 
with  which  it  is  in  positive  relation. 


1* 


102  PATIIETISM. 

xir. 
These  sympathetic  relations  exist  between  the  ?wenia/ organs 
and  ilie  nerves  and  muscles  of  the  face;  they  shape  the  fea- 
tures, and  thus  lay  the  foundation  for  all  that  may  be  known 
of  Physiognomy ;  they  give  the  contour  to  the  entire  system, 
so  that  relations  may  be  traced  between  all  the  mental  and 
physical  developments;  and  from  corresponding  points  of 
sympathy,  throughout  the  body,  the  different  cerebral  organs 
may  be  excited  and  controlled  by  those  external  agencies,  be- 
tween which  and  the  susceptibility  a  positive  relation  has 
been  established. 

XIII. 

The  positive  and  negative  relations  are  controlled  in  cer- 
tain cases,  by  the  mind;  so  that  the  system  is  positively  or 
negatively  affected  according  to  the  mental  apprehensions. 
In  the  same  way  relations  may  be  created,  or  transferred 
from  one  substance  to  another.  When  the  mind  has  been 
once  impressed  to  a  certain  degree,  from  a  mere  apprehension 
of  an  influence  from  any  cause,  it  takes  cognizance  of  this  re- 
lation  ;  and  in  cases  of  high  susceptibility,  i*  does  sometimes 
either  create,  or  transfer  it  from  one  substance  or  agent,  to 
another;  and  hence  the  system  is  affected,  precisely  accord- 
inor  to  the  anticipations  of  the  mind,  and  not  according  to  the 
real  qualities  of  those  things  to  which  the  relation  has  been 
transferred. 

XIV. 

The  various  vilah  organic,  and  mental  functions,  are  car- 
ried on  by  these  different  relations ;  and  from  which  it  must 
follow,  that  upon  the  latter  does  the  healthfulness  and  integ- 
n7y  of  the  former  depend.  And  by  applying  those  agencies 
which  change  these  relations,  we  may  increase  or  modify  the 
mental  or  physical  powers,  and  thus  the  five  senses  may  be 
transposed  and  concentrated  entirely  in  the  sympathetic  sys- 
tem; or  they  may  be  wholly  suspended,  or  even  transferred, 
to  the  sympathetic  system  of  the  operator. 

XV. 

It  is  a  universal  law  of  nature^  that  positive  results  are 


THEORY    OF    PATHETISM.  103 

produced  by  a  relation  between  an  agent,  and  a  subject,  or 
two  or  more  substances,  brought  into  re/a^?on  with  each  other. 
It  is  only  by  establishing  a  connection  between  iico  things,  or 
forms  which  differ  in  quality,  that  a  positive  result  differing 
in  quality  from  either  of  the  two  is  produced.  This  is  the 
first  law  of  Pathelism,  and  from  which  we  see  how  it  is,  that 
one  may  not  be  able  to  produce  the  same  effects  upon  differ- 
ent persons. 

This  theory,  itself,  presents  my  reasons  for  rejecting  the 
common  views  of  a  universal  fluid.  But  yet,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  do  the  subject  justice,  that  I  should  add  a 
few  remarks  in  answer  to  the  following  inquiries  : — 

1.    Is    IT    A   UNIVERSAL    FLUID  ? 

It  is  not  necessary,  here,  to  inquire  whether  there  is  any 
difference  between  galvanism,  magnetism,  and  electricity.  It 
is  generally  admitted,  that  these  terms  designate,  essentially, 
one  and  the  same  agency;  and  in  this  sense  I  shall  use  them. 
And  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  also,  that  these  forces  pervade 
all  matter,  and  hence  they  must,  more  or  less,  affect  the  living 
body.  We  have  further  seen,  that  the  electricity  of  the  air, 
and  the  magnetism  of  the  earth,  may  influence  the  vital  phe- 
nomena in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  The  lunar  and  solar  in- 
fluences have  been  referred  to ;  but,  it  is  certain  that  the  vital 
forces  control  or  resist  these  influences,  as  we  have  seen  in 
the  cases  of  heat  applied  to  the  living  body.  If  this  power 
were  not  inherent  in  vitality,  it  is  not  possible  to  determine 
how  life  could  be  perpetuated  for  any  time.  And,  I  shall  not 
be  expected,  perhaps,  to  account  for  cases  where,  it  is  said, 
the  needle  has  been  affected  by  the  approach  of  the  human 
hand.  But,  though  I  have  often  tried,  I  have  never  seen  any 
results  of  this  kind.  And  even  if  any  such  have  been  produ- 
ced, a  few  of  them  could  not  outweigh  the  mass  of  preponder- 
ating facts  which  every  where  meet  us,  when  examining  this 
subject.  They  would  merely  prove  what  we  all  know  to  be 
true,  that  the  human  body  has  sometimes  exhibited  certain 
galvanic  properties,  which,  however,  do  not  depend  upon  any 
peculiar  process,  as  far  as  is  now  known. 


104  PATHETISM. 

And,  I  may  also  be  referred  to  a  few  cases,  where  a  state 
of  sleep  lias  been  brought  on  by  the  approach  of  an  electrical 
cloud,  or  the  application  of  an  ordinary  magnet;  and  it  may 
be  said,  further,  that  many  of  the  phenomena  attending  sora- 
nipathy  are  so  very  much  like  the  effects  of  magnetism,  that 
it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  this  is  the  agency  by  which 
these  results  are  produced.     To  which  I  reply : — 

1.  No  effects  of  this  hind  are  known  to  have  been  'produced, 
until  the  system  had  been  previously  operated  upon,  and  ren- 
dered  highly  susceptible  by  pathetism. 

This  fact,  alone,  is  sufticient  to  forbid  the  assumption,  that 
the  mere  magnetic  forces  constitute  ihe  agency  by  which 
these  results  are  produced.  With  a  galvanic  battery  life  may 
be  annihilated  from  the  body;  but,  no  one  was  ever  put  into 
a  real  state  of  somnium,  or  somnipathy,  by  a  battery,  till  the 
system  had  been  previously  pathetised.  We  know,  that  va- 
rious effects  may  be  produced  upon  the  physical  organs,  even 
after  death,  by  galvanism ;  but  nothing  resembling  the  pheno- 
mena I  have  described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  were  ever 
induced  by  electricity. 

If  it  be  said  that  "  Magnetism,  in  an  organised  form,"  pro- 
duces these  results,  I  might  ask,  what  magnetism  is  in  an  or- 
ganised form  ?  and  what  gives  it  this  organisation  ?  If  it  is 
life,  then  there  is  something  in  animal  life  which  controls  the 
magnetic  forces,  as  I  have  already  shown.  If  magnetism  has 
a  different  form  in  living  bodies  from  what  it  has  in  any  other 
substances,  it  must  be  owing  to  the  vital  forces;  these,  there- 
fore, cannot  be  magnetism. 

2.  The  magnetic  forces  reciprocally  affect  each  other. — 
That  is,  the  positive  pole  in  magnetism  attracts  the  negative. 
Two  pieces  of  iron  differently  magnetised,  equally  attract  each 
other.  But  we  have  seen,  that  in  pathelising,  though  the  sub- 
ject is  attracted  by  the  operator,  he,  himself,  produces  no 
such  effects  upon  the  latter.  Nor,  indeed,  could  such  an  ef- 
fect be  anticipated  agreeably  to  one  of  the  first  laws  of  nature. 
We  have  seen  that  one  must  be  the  agent,  the  other  the  sub- 
ject, and  if  the  subject  could  affect  the  agent,  to  the  same  ex- 
tent he,  himself,  is  affected,  it  would  be  in  direct  oppositioii 


THEORY    OF    PATHETISM.  105 

to  the  well  known  course  and  constitution  of  things.  Nothing 
is  known  of  the  electrical  laws,  by  which  it  could  be  shown, 
why  the  physical  attraction  between  the  operator  and  patient 
should  not  be  reciprocal,  if  this  agency  were  magnetism;  nor 
why  the  former  should  not  be  able  to  attract  his  patient,  so  as 
to  raise  his  body,  entirely,  against  the  force  of  its  own  gravi- 
tation. It  is  well  known,  that  the  patient,  in  some  cases, 
may  be  so  strengthened  and  excited  by  pathetism,  that  he 
will  be  able  to  lift  more  than  his  own  weight.  But,  in  such 
cases,  no  one  was  ever  raised,  entirely,  by  these  forces, 
which,  however,  the  operator  should  be  able  to  do,  if  the  mag- 
netic forces  constitute  the  agency  by  which  he  attracts  the 
limbs  or  muscles  of  his  patient.  And  in  this  case,  if  the  oper- 
ator were  to  place  his  patient  alone  in  a  boat  a  few  rods  from 
himself,  on  shore,  should  he  not  be  able  to  draw  him  that  dis- 
tance over  the  water?  Why  not,  if  this  attraction  be  mag- 
netism ?  Nor  is  this  all ;  if  this  agency  be  magnetism,  it 
should  be  just  as  easy  for  an  operator  to  magnetise  a  piece  of 
iron  by  making  the  passes  over  it,  as  it  is  to  affect  a  living 
body  in  this  way.  But  we  all  know,  that  this  is  not,  by  any 
means,  the  case.  The  power  which  the  operator  is  able, 
many  times,  to  exert  over  his  patient,  is  truly  astonishiag; 
and  yet  this  same  influence,  when  directed  to  a  few  minute 
iron  filings,  is  not  sufficient  to  produce  the  least  imaginable 
effect.  And,  though  we  know  that  electricity  may  be  evolved 
by  the  living  body,  sometimes  in  sufficient  degrees  so  as  to  ef- 
fect the  electrometer,  and  even  to  give  off  sparks,  yet,  these 
same  bodies  are  not  any  the  more  susceptible  to  pathetism,  oa 
this  account,  alone,  nor  do  they  seem  to  possess  any  more 
than  ordinary  power  for  inducing  the  sleep  in  others.  And  be- 
sides, if  it  were  the  natural  tendency  of  magnetism  to  induce 
sleep,  it  would  always  have  this  efi'ect  when  the  magnet  was 
applied  to  the  system. 

3.  The  radical  difference  in  the  results  produced  by  this 
agency,  proves  that  it  cannot  be  the  magnetic  forces. 

The  effects  of  the  electrical  forces,  when  they  can  be  pro- 
duced at  all,  always  agree,  both  as  to  their  nature  and  in  the 
laws  by  which  they  are  evolved.     But,  by  manipulation, 


106  ^  TATIIETISM. 

scarcely  any  two  bodies  can  be  afTected  alike.  By  the  same 
process  by  which  one  may  be  put  to  sleep,  another  may  be 
waked  up ;  and  the  same  fingers  which  suppress  the  action  of 
one  or  more  of  the  cerebral  organs,  excites  them;  and  this, 
too,  when  the  patient  is  asleep.  The  ever  varying  discrepan- 
cies in  the  effects  produced  by  manipulation  can  never  be  re- 
conciled with  the  assumption  that  the  agency  is  magnetism  or 
electricity. 

4.  The  effects  produced,  it  may  he,  hy  the  application  of 
metallic  substances  to  the  living  body,  even  before  it  may  have 
beeji  pathetised,  do  not  prove  the  agency  to  be  magnetism. 

Precisely  the  same  effects  have  been,  and  may  be  produced 
by  any  other  substance.  Who  has  not  heard  of  Perkins' 
*'  Tractors,"  of  whose  potency  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands, 
of  all  ranks  and  profession,  but  a  few  years  ago,  professed  to 
have  experimental  knowledge.  Indeed,  it  is  asserted  on  the 
best  authority,  that  Perkins  returned  from  England  possessed 
of  ten  thousand  pounds  sterling,  which  he  received  for  cures 
performed  by  the  use  of  two  small  pieces  of  different  kinds  of 
metal,  pointed  and  polished  in  a  peculiar  manner.  And  never, 
perhaps,  were  so  many  of  the  medical  profession,  and  other 
intelligent  persons,  so  egregiously  deceived  as  to  the  true  na- 
ture of  any  medical  agency,  as  in  the  matter  of  those  tractors. 
And  at  the  present  time,  so  general  has  this  conviction  be- 
come, that  these  tractors  seem  never  to  be  mentioned  but  in 
derision,  and  to  remind  the  unwary  how  easy  it  is  to  be  led 
astray  by  deductions  drawn  from  facts  of  this  kind. 

It  was  assumed  by  Perkins  and  his  disciples,  that  the  influ- 
ence of  those  metallic  points  was  electrical,  and  this  accounted 
most  satisfactorily  for  numerous  cures  performed  by  them, 
some  of  which  were,  indeed,  of  a  most  extraordinary  charac- 
ter. But  Dr.  Haygarth  was  the  first  to  suggest,  I  believe,  that 
u'ooc?c/i  tractors  would,  probably,  have  a  similar  effect;  and 
accordingly  Dr.  Falconer  selected  five  persons  for  an  experi- 
ment, who  were  labouring  under  chronic  rheumatism  in  the 
liip,  knee  and  wrist.  Wooden  tractors  had  been  prepared, 
and  painted  to  resemble  those  made  of  metal.  Their  first 
trial  was  made  January  7, 1799,  and  proved,  of  course,  success- 


THEORY    OF    PATHETISM.  107 

ful.  Three  were  much  benefited.  One  felt  his  knee  warm- 
er, and  could  walk  much  better.  Another  was  easier  for  nine 
hours  till  he  went  to  bed,  and  then  his  pain  returned.  An- 
other had  a  tingling  sensation  for  two  hours.  The  next  day, 
the  metallic  tractors  were  employed  with  the  same  effect  as 
that  of  the  preceding  day. 

This  led  to  further  experiments  of  a  similar  kind;  and  they 
were  continued,  until  the  physicians  became  fully  satisfied, 
that  the  wooden  tractors  were  of  the  same  utility  with  the 
metallic,  provided  the  patients  svpposed  them  metallic. 

Similar  experiments  were  shortly  made  at  Edinburgh,  and 
the  result  was  the  same.  A  servant  girl,  afflicted  with  a  most 
acute  head-ache,  which  had  rendered  her  nights  altogether 
restless  for  nearly  a  fortnight,  readily  submitted  to  be  pointed 
at  with  these  icoodcn  tractors.  The  operators  moved  them 
round  her  head,  but  never  touched  her.  In  a  few  minutes  she 
felt  a  chilliness  in  the  head ;  in  a  minute  or  two  more,  she 
felt  as  though  cold  water  was  running  down  the  temples,  and 
the  pain  was  diminished ;  in  ten  minutes  more  she  declared 
that  the  head-ache  was  entirely  gone;  and  the  next  day  she 
returned  to  express  her  thanks  to  her  benefactors  for  the  good 
sleep  she  enjoyed  through  the  night. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  medical  profession  did  not  profit 
by  this  discovery,  instead,  as  they  seem  to  have  done,  turning 
the  whole  subject  into  ridicule,  and  attributing  cures  really 
performed  to  a  mere  imaginary  cause,  that  uever  had  any  real 
existence.  Though  some  of  them  thought,  no  doubt,  that  by 
referring  all  that  was  done  to  the  "■  imagination"  they  had  giv- 
en the  true  explanation  of  these  phenomena,  and  placed  the 
subject  where  it  would  never  again  be  agitated  by  the  expres- 
sion of  any  doubt. 

Perkins  attributed  the  influence  of  his  tractors  to  electricity, 
— the  physicians,  after  the  wooden  tractors  were  found  equally 
efficacious,  attributed  it  to  the  i?naginatio7i  of  the  patient. — 
Neither  party  has  given  the  true  version  of  the  mystery.  The 
facts  detailed  in  the  preceding  pages,  as  well  as  the  history  of 
these  tractors,  are  abundantly  suflicient  to  show,  how  it  is 
that  the  mind  creates  or  transfers  relations  from  one  subject 


108  PATHETISM. 

to  another,  and  by  which  the  susceptibility  becomes  affected 
according  to  the  mental  apprehensions,  and  not  according  to 
the  real  qualities  of  those  things  to  which  the  relation  may 
have  been  transferred,  as  I  hav^e  already  shown.  Indeed, 
there  is  cnousrh  in  the  facts  connected  with  Perkins'  tractors 
to  annihilate,  forever,  the  notions  which  have  prevailed  with 
regard  to  animal  magnetism,  or  the  influence  of  a  "  universal 
fluid"  over  the  living  body,  which  is  exerted,  and  modified, 
merely  by  manipulation  or  the  mental  efforts  of  the  operator. 

5.  Its  effects  on  animals. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  though  this  agency  has  so  long 
borne  the  name  oi '^  animal  magnetism,"  no  effects  have  ever 
been  produced  upon  animals  which  amount  to  any  thing  at 
all.  We  have  seen,  that  animals  have  a  degree  of  suscepti- 
bility which  is  peculiar  to  the  living  body,  but  nothing  upon 
which  you  can  operate  by  the  magnetic  forces.  Eut  if  this 
agency  be  magnetism,  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  its  effects  on 
animals,  in  as  great  a  variety  of  degrees,  as  on  human  beings. 
We  should  not  only  be  able  to  put  them  to  sleep  so  that  they 
could  not  hear,  see,  taste  or  feel,  but  should  also  cause  them 
to  walk,  if  not  to  talk,  in  this  state. 

If  it  be  objected,  that  animals  have  not  the  cerebral  organs 
for  the  same  manifestations,  then  it  is  admitted,  that  this  in- 
fluence is  something  more  than  magnetism;  it  is  one  which 
is  peculiar  to  cerebral  developments.  Thus  admitted,  I  do 
not  see  what  objection  could  be  successfully  urged  against  the 
preceding  theory. 

6.  The  nerves  are  non-conductors  of  electricity. 

I  have  already  adduced  a  number  of  admitted  facts,  in  the 
Chapter  on  susceptibility  and  sympathy,  which  can  never  be 
reconciled  to  the  assumption,  that  this  influence,  whatever  it 
may  be,  is  evolved,  received  and  transmitted  by  the  nerves. — 
And  I  may  now  add,  that  if  the  nerves  should  be  found  to  be 
non-conductors  of  electricity,  this  question  must  be  considered 
settled. 

The  following  account  of  a  paper  recently  read  before  the 
Royal  Society,  by  Dr.  James  Stark,  is  from  the  London  Athe- 
naeum for  March  4, 1843; 


THEORY    OF    PATHETISM.  109 

**  The  author  gives  the  result  of  his  examinations,  both  mi- 
croscopical and  chemical,  of  the  structure  and  composition  of 
the  nerves;  and  concludes,  that  tliey  consist  in  their  whole 
extent,  of  a  congeries  of  membraneous  tubes,  cylindrical  in 
their  form,  placed  parallel  to  one  another,  and  united  into 
fasciculi  of  various  sizes;  but,  that  neither  these  fasciculi,  nor 
the  individual  tubes,  are  enveloped  by  any  filamentous  tissue  ; 
that  these  tubular  membranes  are  composed  of  extremely  mi- 
nute filaments,  placed  in  a  strictly  longitudinal  direction,  in 
exact  parallelism  wiih  each  other,  and  consisting  of  granules 
of  the  same  kind  as  those  which  form  the  base  of  all  the  solid 
structure  of  the  body;  and  that  the  matter  which  fills  the 
tubes  is  of  an  oily  nature,  differing  in  no  essential  respect 
from  butter  or  soft  fat;  and  remaining  of  a  fluid  consistency, 
during  the  life  of  the  animal,  or  while  it  retains  its  natural 
temperature,  but  becoming  granular,  or  solid,  when  the  ani- 
mal dies,  or  its  temperature  is  much  reduced.  As  oily  sub- 
stances are  well  known  to  be  non-conductors  of  electricity,  and 
as  the  nerves  have  been  shown,  by  the  experiments  of  Bischoff, 
to  be  among  the  worst  possible  conductors  of  this  agent,  the 
author  contends,  that  the  nervous  agency  can  be  neither  elec- 
tricity nor  galvanism,  nor  any  property  related  to  these  pow- 
ers." 

And  we  should  probably  arrive  at  the  same  result,  from  a 
similar  examination  of  the  other  tissues,  and  the  fluids  of  the 
living  body.  The  blood  has  been  said  to  be  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  iron,  but  it  has  never  been  satisfactorily  proved. — 
But  even  if  it  were  so,  this  fact  would  not  assist  the  magnetic 
theory.  We  do  not  find  that  the  blood  is  attracted  by  the 
magnetic  any  more  than  the  nervous  matter;  and  indeed,  it 
would  be  easy  to  show,  that  if  this  agency  were  electricity  or 
magnetism,  surrounded  as  we  constantly  are,  with  such  quan- 
tities of  metallic  substances,  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to 
restore  either  health  or  life,  or  to  avoid,  w^ithout  the  greatest 
trouble,  the  ever  attracting  influences  which  they  would  be 
constantly  exciting  over  us. 

2.  Is  IT  A  Nervous  Fluid  ? 

Are  the  eff'ects  produced  by  manipulating  the  human  system, 
which  appear  in  sleep,  and  mental  excitements,  caused  by  the 
communication  of  a  neuraura,orjf?7/zW,  from  the  operator,  and 
received  into  the  nervous  system  of  the  patient?  The  ques- 
tion now  under  notice,  is  not,  whether  there  is  not  what  has 
been  called  a  fluid,  or  substance,  exhaled  from  the  extremi- 

E 


1 10  rATHETISM. 

ties  of  the  nerves,  though  the  highest  medical  authorities  ad- 
mit that  if  such  a  fluid  exists,  it  is  of  so  subtile  a  consistence, 
as  never  yet  to  have  heea  detected,  either  by  taste.,  sight  or 
smell.  Nay,  they  further  admit,  that  the  constituent  princi- 
ples of  this  liquid  are  perfectly  unknown,  as  they  cannot  be 
rendered  visible  by  art,  or  proved  by  experiment.*  But  it  is 
assumed,  that  such  a  fluid  must  exist,  because,  on  making  a 
ligature  on  a  nerve,  the  efl'ccts  of  volition  or  sensation  are  sus- 
pended. There  may,  indeed,  be  a  fluid  peculiar  to  the  veins, 
arteries,  muscles,  the  viscera,  and  indeed  the  osseous  parts  of 

the  sj^stem. 

Nor  is  the  present  enquiry  as  to  whether  there  are  certain 
exhalations  from  the  surface  of  the  human  body,  of  carbon,  or 
carbonic  acid  gas,  or  a  peculiar  oderous  substance.  What  we 
•wish  to  ascertain,  is,  whether  the  brain  or  nervous  system 
eliminates  a  ^Mt£?,  which  is  received  into  the  sysie?n  of  the 
subject,  who  is  afl'ected  by  pathetism  ?  When  the  fingers  are 
applied  to  the  cerebral  organs,  and  the  subject  manifests  any 
given  emotion,  is  that  emotion  excited  by  the  reception  of  a 
nervous  substance  from  the  hand  of  the  operator  ?  Or  when 
one  operates  upon  another,  (as  it  is  said,)  by  his  will,  merely, 
is  there  in  this  case,  a  transmission  of  any  fluid  or  substance 
from  the  nerves  of  the  operator,  into  the  nerves  of  the  patient? 
The  following  are  some  of  the  reasons  which  incline  me  to 
the  negative  of  this  question : — 

1.  The  results  produced  xoithout  any  physical  contact,  and 
without  any  effort  of  the  ivilL 

It  is  susceptible  of  the  clearest  demonstration,  that  sleep, 
for  instance,  maybe  induced  without  any  physical  contact,  or 
any  mental  effort  of  the  will  of  another,  whatever.  And  so 
of  many  of  the  results  already  described  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter. To  suppose  the  transmission  of  a  fluid  in  the  case  of  the 
wooden  tractors,  or  in  the  case  of  the  non-magnetised  tree  of 
Mesmer,  is  perfectly  preposterous.  When  the  patient  touch- 
ed a  tree  that  had  not  been  magnetised,  he  was  seized  with 
convulsions;  but  when  he  came  in  contact  with  the  tree  upon 
which  the  operator  assumed  to  have  thrown  the  magnetic  fluid, 

•  Dr.  Hooper. 


THEoay    OF    PATHETISM.  Ill 

he  was  not  affected  at  all !  No  wonder  the  French  commis- 
sioners put  the  seal  of  their  condemnation  upon  Mesmer's  the- 
ory.* 

Take  the  case  of  the  cure  of  the  cancer,  effected  by  the  ap- 
plication of  the  hand  of  a  corpse.  Is  the  nervous  fluid  trans- 
mitted from  the  hand  of  a  dead  man?  Or,  the  cure  performed 
by  the  East  Indian.  Who  can  believe,  that  in  these  and  the 
thousands  of  other  similar  cases,  the  change  was  effected  by 
the  transmission  of  a  nervous  fluid  ?  And  so  of  the  method 
recommended  for  testing  what  has  been  called  the  '*  impres- 
sibility" of  persons  to  the  "  neurauric  influence."  The  patient 
is  directed  to  take  hold  of  an  iron  rod  or  bar,  held  in  the  hand 
of  the  operator.  If  he  feels  any  sensation  in  his  hand  or  arm, 
the  "  neuraura"  is  said  to  have  been  transmitted  from  the 
hand  of  the  operator,  by  means  of  the  metallic  conductor,  into 
the  arm  or  hand  of  the  subject.  And  I  have  seen  numbers  of 
the  medical  profession  operating  in  this  way  ;  and  when  they 
found  persons  thus  affected,  they  have  taken  it  for  granted, 
that  a  nervous  current  was  thus  received  by  the  patient  from 
the  operator.  And  during  this  time,  they  seem  never  to  have 
once  thought  of  the  wooden  tractors ;  and  what  the  disciples 

*  When  Dr.  B.,  the  originator  of  v.hat  is  called  the  Neurauric  theory, 
was  in  this  city,  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1S42,  the  following  incidents 
occurred.  He  had  a  highly  susceptible  subject ;  and  whom  he  had  im- 
pressed with  a  deep  antipathy  against  an  operator  whom  I  will  call 
Mr.  S.  It  so  happened,  that  the  Dr.  was  invited,  one  evening,  with  his 
subject,  to  a  house  where  there  was  a  person  whom  Mr.  S.  had  pathe- 
tised  some  three  months  before.  And,  of  course,  his  subject  took  it 
into  his  head  to  become  very  much  convulsed  on  coming  near  the  per- 
son whom  he  thought  Mr.  S.  had  operated  upon,  and  he  was  so  much 
affected,  that  the  Dr.  found  it  somewhat  difficult  to  relieve  him.  The 
reason  assigned  was,  that  he  could  not  touch  or  even  come  near  per- 
sons who  had  been  operated  upon  by  Mr.  S.,  as  the  neuraura  given  off 
by  them  was  so  offensive  to  him!  A  few  evenings  after,  Mr.  S.,  (un- 
known to  the  Dr.  or  his  subject)  came  in  contact  with  the  latter,  sat  by 
his  side,  and  put  his  hands  upon  him,  but  it  produced  no  eflects  at  all. 
This  is  one  of  many  other  facts  which  could  be  given  showing  the  fal- 
lacy of  the  Dr's.  assumptions  about  the  transmission  of  a  nervous  cur- 
rent.  If  his  subject  was  atiected  in  the  first  case,  as  he  thought  he  was 
by  a  nervous  current  from  the  patient  operated  on  by  Mr.  S.,  why  was 
he  not  still  more  affected  when  he  came  in  contact  with  Mr.  S.  hirnself? 
Answer,  because,  in  the  first  case  an  influence  was  apprehended,  in  the 
other  it  was  not.  In  the^first  case,  effects  were  produced  without  any 
physical  contact ;  in  the  other  there  was  physical  contact,  but  no  effects 
followed  as  the  result. 


112  PATIIETISM. 

of  this  tl\cory  will  say,  whea  they  come  to  find  out  that  the 
same  feeling  in  the  hand  or  arm  of  the  subject  may  be  induced 
with  a  wooden  rod  as  well  as  with  a  metallic  one,  and,  indeed, 
without  any  rod  at  all,  or  any  contact  with  the  operator,  re- 
mains to  be  seen.  Something  must  be  allowed,  of  course,  for 
the  habits  to  which  patients  may  have  been  trained.  If  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  a  metallic  rod,  they  will  be  most  af- 
fected by  that  instrument ;  and  the  same  remark  may  be 
made  of  ivory,  wood,  or  anything  else. 

But,  that  persons  often  sink  into  a  state  of  real  somnipathy, 
without  any  influence  from  physical  contact  or  the  will  of  an- 
other, is  a  matter  of  certainty.  I  have  known  persons  to  fall 
into  this  state,  partially,  who  had  never  been  pathetised, 
merely  by  seeing  me  operate  on  another;  and,  limes  without 
number,  have  I  had  my  patients  iall  into  this  state,  when 
they  have  been  in  the  same  room,  or  in  the  same  dwelling 
where  they  knew  I  was  operating  upon  others,  when  I  had 
no  volition  at  all  upon  the  subject.  Only  the  present  week,  a 
patient  on  whom  I  had  not  operated  for  more  than  six  months, 
happened  to  be  present  while  I  was  patheiising  another;  and 
though  she  was  decidedly  opposed  to  going  to  sleep  herself, 
and  though  I  did  not  wish  her  to  fall  into  this  state,  yet,  she 
did  so.  And  what  was  remarkable,  when  asleep,  she  refused 
to  let  me  touch  her  for  the  purpose  of  waking  her  up;  and 
after  remaining  in  this  state  all  night,  she  remembered  nothing 
of  what  had  happened,  on  waking  up  the  next  morning.  Her 
opposition  to  being  pathetised  arose  from  her  dread  of  ridi- 
cule; but  we  see  from  this  case  how  it  is,  that  the  mind  of  a 
person  overcomes  the  susceptibility,  and  induces  sleep,  with- 
out any  Avill  on  the  part  of  another,  and  indeed,  in  some  cases, 
even  against  the  wishes  of  the  patient  himself. 

But  I  may  be  referred  to  cases  like  the  following: — the  pa- 
tient is  blindfolded,  and  the  operator  merely  brings  his  fingers 
within  an  inch  or  so  of  any  particular  organ,  and  its  function 
is  excited.  Or,  the  patient  places  his  finger  near  any  given 
organ  in  the  head  of  another,  and  his  own  mind  becomes  af- 
Jected. 

To  this  I  answer : 


THRORY    OF    PATHETISM.  113 

(1.)  If  the  excitement  of  the  separate  organs  is  caused  by 
the  actual  transmission  of  a  fluid,  the  results  should  always  be 
the  same;  that  s,  the  emotions  excited  in  one  subject  should 
be  the  same  as  those  excited  from  precisely  the  same  place  in 
the  head  of  another.  But  this  is  not  the  case;  for  though  the 
cerebral  organs  may  be  excited  without  contact,  in  some  sub- 
jects, yet  the  same  feelings  are  not  always  excited  from  the 
same  locations,  in  different  heads.  These  discrepancies  can 
be  accounted  for,  only,  by  the  laws  of  sympathy  before  de- 
scribed. 

(2.)  Exciting  the  cerebral  organs  without  contact,  no  more 
proves  the  transmission  of  a  fluid,  than  the  relief  of  pain,  or 
sleep,  induced  without  contact. 

(3.)  The  cases  in  which  the  cerebral  organs  can  be  control- 
led by  pathetism,  to  any  considerable  degree,  are  very  few; 
and  hence,  it  is  hardly  safe  to  deduce  a  general  law  from  these 
few  cases. 

(4.)  Among  the  subjects  susceptible  of  cerebral  excitement, 
by  manipulation,  the  number  is  iewer  still  whose  organs  can 
be  controlled  without  any  contact ;  and  the  world  over,  per- 
haps, not  one  individual  was  ever  found,  in  whom  each  of  the 
organs  could  be  excited  without  contact.  But,  if  one  organ 
may  be  excited  in  this  way,  and  if  there  be  an  actual  trans- 
mission of  a  fluid  into  the  brain  of  the  subject,  it  is  plain,  that 
we  should  be  able  to  excite  one  organ  as  well  as  another.  But 
this  is  not,  by  any  means,  the  case. 

2.  Effects  produced  on  idiots  and  infants. 

Every  operator  must  have  noticed,  how  much  more  diflScult 
it  is  to  affect  infants  and  idiots,  than  it  is  adults,  and  persons 
in  whom  the  cerebral  organs  are  fully  developed.  But,  if  a 
fluid  be  actually  transmitted,  why  should  it  not  be  received 
with  equal  readiness  into  the  heads  of  idiots  and  children? — 
Infants,  who  have  all  the  organs  proportionably  large,  are  not 
(other  things  being  equal,)  so  easily  affected  as  adults.  Nor, 
indeed,  am  I  aware  that  there  has  ever  been  an  instance, 
where  the  cerebral  organs  have  been  separately  excited  in  in- 
fants. But  why  not  ?  Why  should  not  the  finger  of  the  ope- 
rator transmit  the  neuraura  to  the  organ  of  Benevolence  or 


114  PATHETISM. 

Self-Estccm,  in  a  brain  six  montiis  old,  as  easily  as  into  one 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ?  The  true  reason  is,  these  effects, 
in  many  cases,  depend  much  upon  the  mental  apprehensions 
of  the  subject,  as  I  have  already  stated  in  the  preceding  the- 
ory. 

3.   The  different  results  from  the  same  locations,  and  the 

same  results  from  different  locations. 

For  instance:  in  one  subject  Combativeness  is  excited  by 
touching  the  "  bridge  of  the  nose,"  so  called  ;  in  another,  by 
touching  the  muscles  in  the  under  lip;  in  another,  by  touch- 
ing the  scapula ;  and  in  another,  by  touching  one  of  the  fingers 
or  teeth !  Can  any  one,  in  his  senses,  believe  these  results  to 
be  produced  by  the  transmission  of  a  fluid? 

But,  to  get  rid  of  this  difficulty,  an  advocate  of  the  fluid 
theory  tells  us,  that  in  these  cases  the  patient  is  under  the 
control  of  the  operator's  will,  and,  therefore,  these  results 
are  not  to  be  depended  upon !  Just  as  much  as  the  man  who 
makes  this  objection,  and  no  more.  I  have  operated  on  hun- 
dreds, and,  I  may  say,  thousands  of  cases,  where  I  know  that 
the  subjects  were  no  more  under  the  influence  of  my  will,  in 
the  sense  above  supposed,  than  any  other  person  whom  I 
never  saw,  I  have  put  them  to  sleep  by  my  will,  as  it  is 
called,  and  without  it— I  have  examined  this  agency  in  every 
imaginable  aspect,  and  tested  it  in  every  conceivable  manner 
possible,  and  aflnrm  what  I  know,  when  I  say,  that  I  have  in- 
duced these  different  results  from  persons  who  were  not  asleep, 
and  from  others  who  were,  and  yet,  they  were  not  caused  or 
modified  by  my  will,  in  the  least  conceivable  degree.  The 
inference,  to  my  own  mind,  is  irresistible,  that  the  notion  of  a 
jimd  transmitted  from  the  operator  to  the  subject,  is  utterly 
unfounded. 

How  could  a  subject  be  influenced  by  my  will,  when  I  had 
no  will  about  the  result,  as  to  what  it  should  or  would  be  ? 
The  truth  is,  many  operators  have,  unquestionably,  been  most 
egrcgiously  deceived  as  to  many  things  they  have  attributed 
to  their  own  wills.  How  the  susceptibility  is  controlled  by 
the  will,  and  how  the  will  and  the  susceptibility  reciprocally 
act  upon  each  other,  I  have  already  shown.    But,  to  assume 


THEORY    OF   PATHETISM.  115 

that,  when  I  touch  the  same  organs  in  three  different  subjects, 
and  they  every  one  manifest  a  different  result,  one  must  be 
more  in  love  with  theories  than  I  desire  to  be,  to  believe  that 
the  results  are  either  caused  by  the  transmission  of  a  fluid,  or 
that  they  are  the  results  of  my  own  volitions,  when  I  know 
that  I  exerted  no  will  in  the  cases  at  all,  and  the  patients 
were  no  more  controlled  by  my  will  than  the  chairs  on  which 
they  sat. 

4.  The  immediate  agencies  for  affecting  the  mind,  must,  in 
all  cases,  be  the  same. 

Titillation  of  the  feet  or  sides,  excites  the  organs  of  mirth. 
Is  there,  in  such  cases,  a  fluid  transmitted  ?  And  what  is  the 
difference  between  the  agency  by  which  mirth  is  excited, 
either  by  tickling  the  soles  of  the  feet,  or  by  applying  the  fin- 
gers 10  the  organs  of  mirth  in  the  head?  A  tread  upon  a 
gouty  toe,  not  unfrequently  excites  the  organs  of  Combative- 
ness.     Is  there  a  fluid  transmitted  in  such  cases  ? 

How  often  do  we  feel  our  Hope,  Faith,  Courage,  Devotion, 
Love,  and  Benevolence  excited,  by  what  we  hear  said  in  a 
public  assembly  ;  and  in  this  way,  thousands  of  organs  are  all 
excited  at  the  same  moment.  Is  there  a  fluid  transmitted  in 
such  cases  ?     Who  can  believe  it  ? 

But  I  might  ask,  what  excites  emotion  in  any  case  ?  What 
is  the  immediate  agency  which  exciles  feeling  of  any  kind? 
If  it  be  by  a  fluid  eliminated  in  one  case,  why  not  in  all?  and 
if  the  hand  transmits  this  nervous  current  or  fluid,  on  applying 
it  to  the  head,  how  is  it  to  be  rationally  accounted  for,  that 
this  fact  was  never  discovered  before  the  nineteenth  century? 
How  has  it  come  to  pass,  that  among  the  millions  of  millions 
who  have  had  their  hands  upon  each  other's  cerebral  organs, 
since  the  world  began,  not  one  of  them  ever  received  this  fluid 
in  any  perceptible  degree,  before  the  year  1841  ?  Really,  to 
swallow  such  an  assumption,  one  needs  an  organ  of  Marvel- 
lousness,  to  say  the  least,  much  larger  than  the  one  possessed 
by  the  writer  of  these  pages. 

The  truth  of  the  case  is,  most  who  have  ever  manifested 
any  interest  in  the  investigation  of  this  subject,  under  what- 
ever name  it  has  been  presented,  have  taken  it  for  granted,  all 


lib  PATHETISM. 

along,  that  there  must  be  a  magnetic  or  nervous  fluid  actuallj'' 
transmitted  in  order  to  produce  these  results,  because  those 
who  have  gone  before  have  said  so.  And  thinking  of  no  other 
way  for  solving  all  the  phenomena  which  followed  the  process 
of  manipulation,  we  have  readily  adopted  the  crude  notions  of 
others.  And  this  is  the  more  remarkable,  when  we  examine 
the  results  of  the  wooden  tractors,  together  with  the  history 
of  Mesmer's  operations,  and  observe  what  an  abundance  of 
facts  they  present,  which  go  directly  to  annihilate  the  fluid 
theory.  A  few  of  these  facts  the  reader  will  have  seen  in  the 
foregoing  pages ;  and  if,  after  digesting  these,  he  can  make 
out  an  explanation  more  to  his  mind  than  the  one  presented 
in  the  present  work,  let  him  not  withhold  the  light  which  it 
mav  be  in  his  power  to  shed  upon  this  intricate  subject. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

PATHETISING. 

From  an  examination  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  an  answer  will  have  been  obtained  to  the 
question  so  frequently  asked,  "  Have  all  persons  the  necessary 
power  for  pathetising  ?"  It  is  plain,  that  this  power  depends, 
not  on  the  health  and  character  of  the  operator  merely.  There 
are  many  assisting  and  disturbing  causes,  and  the  whole  must 
be  considered  together,  before  we  shall  be  able  to  judge  with 
any  tolerable  accuracy  as  to  the  power  of  any  one  to  produce 
any  given  results.  Some  things  depend  upon  the  operator, 
others  upon  the  patient,  and  others,  still,  upon  the  persons  or 
circumstances  with  which  they  may  be  surrounded  during  the 
operation. 

Before  coming  to  particulars  as  to  this  process,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  explain,  that  by  a  pass  is  simply  meant  the  act 
of  passing  the  hand  over  any  part  of  the  syslem.  This  is  done 
with  the  fingers  loosely  extended,  and  moved  downward  quite 
lightly  over  the  head  or  limbs.  Reverse  passes  are  made  up- 
wards. 

The  nerves  of  sensation  are  more  fully  developed  in  the 
hands,  and  hence  the  fingers  become  the  principal  organs  of 
touch,  so  called;  and  the  Sacred  Scriptures  recognise  its  use 
in  the  communication  of  blessings,  as  when  the  patriarch  Ja- 
cob placed  his  hands  upon  the  heads  of  Joseph's  children,  and 
pronounced  his  blessing  upon  them.  The  attempt  to  excite 
kind  feelings  in  the  mind  of  a  friend,  is  usually  accompanied 
by  taking  him  by  the  hand  and  looking  him  in  the  eye.  Iq 
pathetising,  therefore,  the  hand  becomes  the  principal  instru- 
ment for  exerting  this  agency,  and  applying  its  influence  to 
different  parts  of  the  system. 


118  rATHETISM. 

1.  TiiK  Operator. 

It  could  not  be  supposed  to  be  a  matter  of  indifference  with 
persons  wishing  to  be  treated  by  pathetism,  whether  the  per- 
son who  is  to  perform  this  operation  be  qualified,  or  not.  No 
person  willingly  trusts  his  health  with  one  whom  he,  himself, 
considers  a  quack.  Let  us  notice,  then,  a  few  things,  of  which 
we  should  wish  to  be  well  satisfied,  before  submitting  to  this 
method  of  treatment. 

1.  Health.  Nothing  can  compensate  for  the  want  of  sound 
health  in  the  operator.  He  should  not  only  be  free  from  all 
constitutional  or  nervous  difficulties,  but  he  should  he  perfectly 
WELL.  We  have  known  a  number  of  cases,  where  disease 
has  been  communicated  from  the  operator  to  the  patient.  If 
the  former  be  nervous,  feeble,  or  sickly,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
we  should  expect  the  patient  to  sympathise  with  him,  and 
to  become  diseased,  just  in  proportion  to  the  influence  exerted 
upon  him. 

2.  Tejyiperameni.  Persons  of  what  are  called  nervous  or 
lymphatic  temperaments,  do  not  usually  succeed  so  well  in 
palhetising.  The  best  temperament  for  the  operator  is  that 
called  bilious,  or  nervo-bilious.  The  sanguine,  or  a  mixture 
of  the  bilious  and  sanguine,  is  also  a  good  temperament.  But 
it  should  be  understood,  that  the  temperament,  whatever  it 
may  be,  should  be  different  from  that  of  the  patient. 

3.  Age.  The  operator,  of  course,  should  be  neither  green 
in  youth,  nor  decrepid  with  age.  During  the  first  stages  of 
adolescence,  the  mental  faculties  are  not  suflficiently  matured, 
and  the  physical  energies  but  imperfectly  developed.  The 
vigor  of  manhood  is  the  time  for  the  full  exercise  of  this  pow- 
er, and  the  period  when  the  system  can  best  endure  the  exer- 
tion necessary  for  its  application  to  the  cure  of  disease.  In 
youth  and  old  age,  the  physical  and  mental  strength  become 
soonest  exhausted,  and  during  these  periods  the  vital  forces 
are  barely  sufficient  to  supply  the  wants  of  his  own  system. 

4.  Mental  character.  Large  Pity,  Benevolence,  Firmness, 
Self-Confidence,  Concentration,  Conscientiousness,  and  Perse- 
verance, are  the  necessary  mental  qualifications.  These  are 
other  phrenological  developments  which  go  to  constitute  a 


PATHETISING.  119 

well-balanced  head ;  but  when  either  of  the  above  qualities 
are  wanting,  it  makes  a  marked  deficiency  in  the  character  of 
an  operator. 

Much  may  depend  on  the  mental  disposition.  He  should 
be  possessed,  especially  when  operating,  of  undisturbed  calm- 
ness, decision,  and  kindness  of  heart.  A  rough  word,  or  the 
indulgence  of  any  passion,  while  his  patient  is  in  a  state  of 
somnipathy,  might  produce  serious  mischiefs,  and  such  as  he 
might  find  it  impossible  to  control. 

5.  Good  motives.  Every  patient,  of  course,  possesses  the 
undoubted  right  to  judge  of  the  motives  of  an  operator,  and 
hence  our  chapter  would  be  incomplete,  without  a  statement 
of  what  they  should  be.  And  besides,  it  has  much  to  do  with 
the  success  of  an  operation.  Is  it  not  a  matter  of  intuition, 
that  what  we  attempt  from  a  sincere  desire  to  do  good,  we 
prosecute  with  far  more  confidence  of  success,  than  when, 
conscience-smitten,  one  undertakes  what  he  knows  to  be 
wrong?  Every  sinner,  when  seeking  an  unworthy  object,  is 
discouraged  with  more  or  less  fear,  and  want  of  confidence  ; 
and  these  are  states  of  mind  which  are  every  way  unfavorable 
to  that  quiet  and  self-respect,  which  are  necessary  for  opera- 
tions of  this  kind.  The  more  faith  and  expectation  of  success 
the  better.  This  is  a  principle  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
it  holds  equally  good  of  every  judicious,  well-meant  effort,  for 
the  relief  of  human  suffering. 

6.  Ski/l.  The  knowledge  of  the  pathetiser  should  be  of  this 
subject,  and  the  laws  by  which  it  is  to  be  applied  for  the  cure 
of  disease.  The  most  learned  and  intelligent  in  mathematics, 
languages,  medicine,  and  the  various  other  branches  of  sci- 
ence, may  be  perfectly  ignorant  of  tliis  agency.  The  skill  ne- 
cessary for  its  use,  is  not  to  be  learned  from  ordinary  works 
on  human  physiology  or  medicine.  This,  if  we  may  so  speak, 
is  a  science  by  itself;  it  has  its  peculiar  laws,— is  diflferenl 
from  all  other  subjects  in  so  many  respects,  that  a  man  does 
not  become  qualified  to  operate  merely  by  possessing  good 
health,  and  a  desire  to  do  good.  He  should  become  familiar 
with  the  nature  of  the  sympathic  system,  and  study  the  dif- 
ferent susceptibilities,  sympathies  and  antipathies  of  the  living 


120  TATIIETISM. 

body.  He  sliould  perceive  how  it  is,  that  the  mind  and  these 
susccplibiliiies  reciprocally  affect  cacli  other.  A  thorough 
knowledge  of  Physiognomy  and  Phrenology  are  great  helps, 
though  not  indispensable.  But  there  is  what  may  be  called 
an  aptness  for  this  work,  which  enables  the  skilful  operator 
to  adapt  himself  to  the  condition,  idiosyncrasy,  and  peculiar 
views  of  liis  patient,  and  by  which  he  causes  different  agen- 
cies and  circumstances  to  contribute  to  his  assistance,  in  his 
attempts  to  relieve  suffering  humanity. 

7.  Balance  of  power.  The  operator  may  be  either  male  or 
female;  but  in  what  would  be  understood  by  nervous  or  syin- 
palhetic  poicer,  the  operator  should  be  superior  to  the  patient. 
We  have  seen,  that  positive  effects  are  produced  by  establish- 
ing a  positive  relation  between  two  bodies  that  differ  in  tem- 
perament, or  some  other  physical  qualities  which  render  one 
susceptible  to  an  influence  from  the  other.  Of  course,  there- 
fore, the  stronger  the  operator  may  be  in  all  those  qualifica- 
tions which  give  an  influence,  either  physical  or  mental,  over 
others,  the  better  for  this  agency.  And  so,  also,  when  the 
system  of  the  patient  is  enfeebled  by  disease,  or  worn  down 
with  suffering,  it  forms  a  greater  contrast  with  the  power 
which  is  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  and  the  results  will  gene- 
rally correspond. 

2.  The  Patient. 

1.  Temperament.  We  have  already  seen,  that  everything, 
as  it  were,  depends  on  the  susceptibility  or  sympathetic  fem- 
;?eramen^  of  the  patient.  True,  there  may  be  but  few  cases 
where  some  slight  7'e//e/ could  not  be  given,  by  an  experienc- 
ed operator;  but  we  do  not  know  enough  of  this  agency  to 
induce  the  belief,  that  it  may,  at  present,  be  considered  a  pan- 
acea for  '*  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to."  That  different  op- 
erators have  succeeded  in  performing  some  very  extraordinary 
cures,  is  true,  and  I  have  been  successful  in  a  few  remarkable 
cases  of  my  own ;  but  yet  we  know  but  little  of  the  laws  of 
this  agency.  And  this  is  saying  no  more  than  we  might  af- 
firm of  the  materia  medica.  Who  has  been  able  to  tell,  why 
the  same  medicine  does  not  produce  the  same  results  on  dif- 
erent  persons,  and  at  different  times  not  even  on  the  same 


PATHETISING.  121 

person  ?  Does  not  every  thing  depend  upon  the  idiosyncrasy 
of  the  patient?  And  do  we  doubt  the  efficacy  of  any  medi- 
cine, merely  because  it  does  not  always  produce  the  same  ef- 
fects, in  the  same  time,  upon  different  patients,  or  indeed  up- 
on the  same  patient  ? 

There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  temperament  of  those  persons 
most  susceptible.  They  generally  partake,  more  or  less,  of 
what  is  understood  by  the  sanguine,  lymphatic,  and  nervous. 
Persons  highly  nervous,  as  it  is  called,  are  not  the  best  sub- 
jects. Those  in  whom  the  above  combinations  seem  to  meet, 
are  of  what  we  should  denominate  a  syynpathetic  temperament. 

2.  Excitement — Quiet.  All  nervous  or  mental  excitement 
in  the  patient,  as  well  as  in  the  pathetiser,  are  decidedly  un- 
favorable. The  entire  system  should  be  in  a  state  of  perfect 
quiet.  The  mind  should  be  unoccupied.  There  should  be  no 
anxiety  about  the  process,  or  its  results.  The  patient  should 
be  previously  prepared,  so  that,  when  the  operation  13  com- 
menced, the  mind  may  at  once  yield  to  its  influence,  without 
any  opposing  or  disturbing  influences. 

3.  Sleep.  When  a  state  of  somnipathy  follows  this  process, 
new  responsibilities  are  imposed  upon  the  pathetiser.  In 
cases  of  sickness,  experiments,  merely,  should  never  be  at- 
tempted; nor  should  the  patient  be  worried  with  questions. 
If  he  is  properly  managed,  he  will  be  able  to  describe  his  own 
case;  and  after  some  experience,  that  of  others,  without  much 
difficult  V. 

The  time  during  which  the  sleep  may  be  continued,  must 
be  determined  by  the  case.  No  definite  rule  can  be  given — 
the  operator  should  use  his  own  judgment.  A  few  hours, 
daily,  may  be  sufficient. 

3.  Time  and  place  for  operating. 

1.  The  patient  and  the  operator  should  not  only  be  in  a 
state  of  perfect  quiet,  but  the  process  should  be  commenced 
where  they  will  not  be  likely  to  be  disturbed.  They  should 
not  be  entirely  alone :  one  or  more  judicious  friends  should 
always  be  present,  when  the  operator  and  patient  are  of  dif- 
ferent sexes.  Strangers  sliould  not  be  admitted.  To  the  pre- 
sence of  persons  who  are  disagreeable  to  the  patient,  or  who 

L 


122  PATHETISM. 

arc  obstinateh'  set  against  the  agency  which  is  to  be  applied 
for  his  relief,  there  are  insuperable  objections.  Deleiize,  Dr. 
Rostan,  and  the  most  intelligent  operators  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  have  united  in  bearing  this  testimony.* 

No  conversation  should  be  carried  on  within  hearing;  and 
things  should  be  so  arranged,  that  persons  may  not  be  passing 
in  and  out  of  the  room,  during  the  sitting. 

2.  The  sittings  should  be  protracted  from  thirty  minutes  to 
one  hour,  and  should  be  had,  as  near  as  may  be,  at  the  same 
hours  every  day.  They  should  be  repeated  as  often  as  once  a 
day ;  and  when  continued  for  thirty  minutes  only,  they  may 
be  repeated  a  number  of  times  during  the  twenty-four  hours. 

4.  Process  of  Pathetising. 

Different  effects  may  be  produced  in  various  ways  on  highly 
susceptible  subjects ;  or,  after  the  relation  has  been  sufficiently 
established  between  the  pathetiser  and  patient;  and  it  should 
be  remembered,  that  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  produce 
sleep,  in  order  to  relieve  one  from  disease  or  pain. 

The  patient  should  be  comfortably  seated,  w^here  the  head 
may  recline  without  fatigue.  He  should  then  be  directed  to 
elevate  his  eyes,  and  immovably  set  them  on  something  sta- 
tionary, with  his  mind  fixed  upon  the  certainty  of  the  result 
tckich  you  design  to  produce,  whether  it  be  sleep,  or  the  relief 
of  bodily  pain.  The  longer  and  the  more  steady  his  eyes  and 
mind  are  kept  thus  united,  in  anticipation  of  the  designed  re- 
sults, the  better.  And  in  some  subjects,  the  effects  are  in- 
creased by  their  standing  up,  either  against  the  side  of  the 
room,  or  near  a  chair  or  sofa,  where  they  may  easily  sit  down 
if  they  wish  to  do  so. 

At  other  times,  the  effects  are  very  much  increased  if  the 
operator  sits  by  the  side  of  the  patient  during  this  process,  and 
holds  one  of  his  hands;  or  if  he  give  him  a  piece  of  steel,  or 
any  substance  not  offensive,  which  the  patient  should  hold  in 
his  hand. 

*  "  There  is,"  says  Dr.  Georget,  "  a  very  essential  precaution  to  be 
taken  by  those  who  wish  to  make  useful  experiments.  It  is,  to  avoid 
surrounding  one's  self  with  dishenest  and  incredulous  persons.  I  had 
frequently  to  complain  of  them  ;  and  my  somnambulists  have  experi- 
enced gicat  troubles  from  them,  and,  almost  always,  serious  accidents." 
— P/ii/5.  Nerv.  System,  Jo\.  ],p.  270. 


PATHETISING.  123 

In  this  manner  I  have  put  a  room  full  of  persons  to  sleep  at 
once,  and  believe  I  could  operate  successfully  upon  twenty  at 
one  time,  without  the  least  inconvenience  to  myself.  The  old 
method  of  staring  the  patient  in  che  eyes,  is  highly  objection- 
able, especially  when  the  parties  are  strangers,  and  of  the  dif- 
ferent sexes;  and  the  extreme  mental  efforts  put  forth  by  some 
operators,  are  as  unnecessary  as  they  are  sometimes  ludi- 
crous- Indeed,  I  am  confident,  that  the  manner  of  passing  the 
hands  about  the  persons  of  some  patients,  and  gazing  them  in 
the  eye  with  such  barbarous  tenacity,  has  often  prevented  the 
anticipated  results ;  as  I  have  often  induced  sleep  in  a  few 
minutes  by  the  above  process,  in  persons,  where  the  other 
method  has  failed  after  a  dozen  trials. 

Of  course,  the  attention  should  not  be  directed  from  the  pa- 
tient, any  more  than  the  patient's  attention  should  be  directed 
from  the  process  used  for  inducing  sleep,  or  the  relief  of  pain. 
And  the  sleep,  and  results,  will  become  more  and  more  sym- 
pathetic as  this  process  is  repeated,  as  it  must  be  for  a  length 
of  time  before  the  susceptibility  will  be  found  sufficiently  de- 
veloped to  be  controlled,  merely,  by  the  will  of  the  operator. 

For  increasing  the  sympathy,  and  also  for  relieving  pain, 
the  passes  may  be  made,  or  the  hand  applied  in  the  following 
manner.  Standing  by  the  side  of  the  patient,  when  reclined 
or  seated  as  above  directed,  the  operator  should  place  one 
hand  over  the  whole  of  the  forehead,  from  the  super  orbiter 
plate  upward,  and  the  other  directly  above  it;  or,  while  you 
hold  the  right  hand  over  the  frontal  region  as  above,  place 
your  thumb  and  middle  finger  directly  back  and  a  little  below 
the  centre  of  the  organs  marked  by  Gall  as  Caution.  If  you 
wish  to  vary  the  method,  stand  directly  behind  the  patient, 
and  place  your  middle  fingers  on  the  points  above  named  :  by 
this  process  alone  sleep  is  often  induced,  and  no  other  means 
will,  in  some  cases,  succeed  so  well  in  producing  a  state  of 
mental  tranquillity.  When  the  patient  seems  to  be  more  or 
less  subdued,  pass  your  hands  gently  from  the  coronal  region 
down  the  sides  of  the  head,  extending  them  off  in  a  circle  to 
the  top  of  the  head  again.     And,  if  you  wish,  you  can  pass 


124?  PATHETISM. 

your  hand  slowly  from  the  head  down,  inside  his  arms  and 
Jiands,  end  extend  ihem  off  and  in  a  circle  again,  lo  the  head, 
as  before. 

As  a  sound  state  of  somnipalhy  rarely  follows  the  first  sit- 
ting, the  process  should  be  repeated  till  it  is  successful.  When 
the  sympathetic  relation  is  once  established,  the  patient  will 
sink  into  a  state  of  sleep,  or  wake  up,  merely  by  the  direction 
of  the  operator,  and  frequently  without  any  direction,  if  the 
patient  has  a  distinct  apprehension  of  what  he  supposes  the 
operator's  wishes  arc. 

To  wake  up  the  patient  by  tlie  passes,  place  one  hand  over 
the  back  part  of  the  licad,  covering  from  the  portion  allotted 
to  Philoprogeniliveness  down  over  the  cerebellum;  and  with 
your  other  hand  place  your  tvi'o  fingers  upon  Causality,  or 
pass  the  hand  quickly  upward,  over  the  frontal  region,  as  if 
you  wished  to  brush  away  something  collected  there.  Or, 
standing  in  front  of  him,  put  your  thumbs  over  his  eyes,  and 
pass  them  upward  quickly  over  his  forehead.  Put  both  hands 
upon  the  sides  of  his  head,  and  pass  them  upward  and  off 
quickly  ;  and  pass  them  from  his  hands,  upward,  and  along 
the  arms.  These  processes  should  be  continued  till  he  is  per- 
fectly relieved. 

For  the  relief  of  local  pain,  the  hand  should  be  held  and 
passed  gently  over  the  part  affected.  To  cure  the  headache, 
let  the  patient  lean  his  head  back,  so  as  to  rest  it  firmly  in 
your  hand,  your  hand  being  sufficiently  low  to  cover  the  cere- 
bellum. With  your  other  hand,  make  the  passes  down  and 
over  the  forehead  and  temples.  If  the  pain  is  in  the  frontal 
region,  cover  the  whole  of  the  occipital,  or  those  portions  al- 
lotted to  Approbativeness,  Self-Esteem,  and  Firmness.  For 
hypochondria  and  nervous  derangements  generally,  the  passes 
should  be  made,  more  or  less,  over  the  portions  marked  for 
Ideality  and  Sublimity.  In  all  cases  of  fainting,  languor,  &c. 
the  hands  should  be  held  upon  the  occipital  region  of  the 
head.  Many  nervous  difficulties  may  be  perfectly  relieved,  by 
simply  connecting  the  process  ofinducing  sleep,  with  an  anti- 
cipation in  the  mind  of  the  patient  of  the  certainty  of  the 
cure. 


pathetising.  125 

5.  Cautions. 

On  no  account  should  the  pathetiser  ever  become  excited  or 
alarmed,  while  operating,  and  especially  while  his  patient  is 
in  a  state  of  somnipathy. 

If  it  be  found  impossible  to  wake  him  up,  let  him  alone  : — 
he  will  come  out  of  it  in  time,  if  left  to  himself 

Sometimes  patients,  after  being  rendered  highly  susceptible, 
involuntarily  sink  into  a  state  of  sleep.  This  may  be  prevent- 
ed by  the  fixed  will  and  direction  of  the  pathetiser.  Direct  the 
patient,  when  asleep,  never  to  sink  into  that  state  again.  If 
this  be  not  effectual,  leave  him  to  himself  You  should  never 
meddle  with  a  patient,  whom  you  find  it  impossible  to  con- 
trol. 

All  excitement  should  always  be  removed,  before  the  pa- 
tient is  waked  up ;  and  great  care  should  be  taken  to  remove 
the  excitement  from  each  organ  in  which  it  may  have  been 
produced.  I  have  known  mischievous  results  to  follow  these 
excitements  :  they  should  therefore  be  attempted  with  great 
caution,  and  only  for  good  and  justifiable  purposes. 

Nor  should  the  stomach  be  loaded  with  food,  during  the  ex- 
citement of  alimentativeness.  These  excitements,  of  course, 
are  morbid,  or  beyond  the  demands  of  nature,  and  should  be 
continued  but  a  few  moments  at  a  time. 

No  liberties  should  be  taken,  or  allowed,  with  the  person 
of  a  somnipathist,  which  he  would  not  consent  to,  when 
awake.  It  is  a  great  injustice  and  breach  of  confidence,  when 
your  patient,  after  having  trusted  his  life  to  your  care,  while 
in  a  state  of  unconscious  slumber,  wakes  up  and  finds  his  flesh 
pricked  with  pins,  and  mangled  in  various  ways,  to  satisfy  the 
incredulity  of  unreasonable  minds. 

It  is  quite  common  for  those  but  partially  familiar  with 
this  subject,  to  recommend  and  urge  their  friends  and  others 
to  attempt  the  production  of  the  somnipathic  state,  merely  to 
gratify  their  curiosity,  or  to  satisfy  themselves  of  its  truth. 

This  is  certainly  wrong;  I  have  seen  many  mischievous 
results  from  those  attempts.  When  any  injury  follows  the 
use  of  medicine  which  has  been  administered  by  an  intelli- 
gent physician,  people  do  not  set  it  down  to  the  discredit  of 

L* 


i'lij  PATUETISM. 

science,  but  we  infer  from  such  cases,  the  necessity  of  care 
and  extensive  information,  by  which  such  injuries  may  be 
avoided.  Or,  if  the  mischief  be  done  by  the  ignorance  of  the 
practitioner,  he  is  blamed,  of  course — and  punished,  it  may 
be,  by  the  tribunals  of  justice. 

But  it  is  still  worse  when  mischiefs  follow  from  misman- 
agement of  pathelism.  From  the  deep-rooted  prejudice 
which  everywhere  prevails  against  this  agency,  all  the  mis- 
chiefs which  may  result  from  its  misuse,  are  attributed  to  the 
agency  itself;  and  thus  the  greater  injury  seems  to  be  done 
to  truth,  than  in  the  cases  above  stated. 

I  was  recently  called  to  the  following  case.  An  operator 
had  succeeded  in  putting  a  person  to  sleep.  The  attempt 
had  been  made  a  number  of  times,  and  from  curiosity  merely. 
— But,  finally,  he  found  it  impossible  to  remove  the  sleep, 
and  convulsions  and  insanity  followed.  I  have  known  a 
number  of  cases  of  this  kind.  The  physicians  and  friends,  of 
course,  lay  all  this  mischief  to  pathetism.  It  should  be  attri- 
buted to  the  ignorance,  and  in  some  cases  to  the  imprudence 
of  the  operators. 

The  most  intelligent  may  sometimes  fail;  and  if  these  are 
not  always  successful,  if  should  caution  others  never  to  at- 
tempt to  produce  a  state  of  feeling  in  another,  which  they 
may  find  themselves  unable  to  control.  If  you  have  health,  and 
a  heart  for  this  work,  and  have  made  yourself  familiar  with 
its  laws,  commence  ?t77A  Me  sick:  let  your  efforts  be  made 
not  to  produce  the  sleep,  nor  any  of  its  phenomena,  but  to  re- 
lieve the  suffering.  Evil  could  scarcely  be  anticipated  from 
such  attempts  provided  ihe  motive  were  what  it  should  be, 
and  the  process  were  agreeable  to  the  patient. 

Pathetism  has  to  do  with  the  sympathetic  system,  not  of 
the  operator  and  his  patient  merely,  but  with  the  nervous 
sympathies  and  anlipalhies  of  every  other  person  present. 
And,  the  success  of  the  operator's  efforts  must  depend,  more 
or  less,  on  the  state  of  feeling  with  which  he  is  surrounded. 
And,  it  is  an  admitted  law  of  this  subject,  that  no  one  should 
ever  attempt  to  operate  on  another,  merely  to  satisfy  an  idle 
or  a  wicked  curiosity.     The  motive  should  always  be  the  re- 


PATHETISING.  127 

lief  of  the  patient :  or  if  it  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  science, 
the  attempt  should  be  made  agreeably  to  the  rules  which  the 
subject  itself  prescribes  for  its  own  management. 

I  do  not  disapprove  of  all  exhibitions  of  the  sleep;  there 
are  occasions  enough  for  all  benevolent  and  scientific  purposes, 
when  this  phenomenon  may  be  seen  and  tested,  without  ex- 
posing patients  in  the  way  they  have  been,  by  many  hereto- 
fore. Indeed  it  is  a  subject  which  every  one  should  investi- 
gate for  himself,  and  this  all  may  do  without  giving  counte- 
nance to  its  abuse  by  exhibitions,  in  the  way  some  of  them 
have  hitherto  been  managed. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


PHRENOrATHT. 


Phreaopathy,  from  phrenis,  mind,  and  paschos,  to  feel,  ex- 
perience, to  be  acted  upon.  I  have  already  informed  the  reader 
as  to  the  reasons  for  applying  this  term  to  those  operaiions  on 
the  human  brain,  by  which  we  are  enabled  to  control  the  ce- 
rebral organs  through  the  agency  of  pathetism.  A  term  is 
needed  for  the  purpose  of  designating  those  operations  which 
control  the  mental  functions;  and  this  is  as  suitable  as  any 
other,  if  we  choose  to  use  it  for  this  purpose. 

But,  before  we  come  to  the  distinguishing  principles  of 
Phrenopalhy,  it  may  be  desirable  that  the  reader  should  have 
some  general  account  of  the  brain  and  its  fanctions,  as  far  as 
they  seem  to  have  been  determined,  heretofore,  by  the  labors 
of  previous  ages.  Of  the  discoveries  of  the  immortal  Gall,  it 
is  not  my  design  to  speak  here.  The  science  which  he  had 
the  honor  of  founding,  though  still  in  its  infancy,  has  well 
nigh  lived  down  the  ridicule  and  opposition  which  were  for- 
merly waged  against  it.  Had  it  not  been  true — had  it  not 
been  founded  in  fact — the  name,  talents,  and  wealth,  which 
have  been  arrayed  for  its  annihilation,  would  have  proved 
successful  long  ago !  But  what  a  glorious  triumph  has  Phre- 
nology achieved  over  the  world,  in  arms  against  it !  Its 
claims,  as  a  science  of  the  first  importance,  are  at  the  pres- 
ent time  generally  admitted,  and  the  best  minds  in  the  civi- 
lized world  are  convinced  of  its  truth.  Not  a  class  of  the 
learned  can  be  mentioned,  not  a  party,  in  religion,  medicine 
or  politics,  but  among  whom  we  shall  find  numbers  who 
firmly  believe  its  truth ;  and  many  who  will  acknowledge 
themselves  indebted  to  its  light,  as  much,  or  more,  than  to 
any  other  science,  for  the  knowledge  they  have  of  themselves 


PHRENOPATHY.  129 

or  the  mental  character  of  others.  Indeed,  we  do  not  be- 
lieve that  any  other  science  could  boast  of  men  higher  in  the 
scale  of  intelligence  or  learning,  than  are  now  the  firm  advo- 
cates of  Phrenology. 

To  Dr.  Gall,  also,  belongs  the  honor  of  shedding  more  light 
on  the  anatomy  of  the  human  brain,  than,  probably,  to  any 
other  man  who  has  ever  lived ;  and  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
show,  that  numbers  have  since  written  upon  the  physiology 
of  the  nervous  system,  without  giving  that  distinguished  man 
due  credit  for  the  obligations  they  were  under  to  his  previous 
discoveries.* 

All  that  can  be  attempted  here,  will  be,  merely  to  give 
some  general  observations  on  the  anatomy  and  functions  of 
the  encephalon,  by  which  the  reader  may  be  the  better  pre- 
pared to  apprehend  the  principles  of  Phrenopathy. 

1.  The  Relation  of  the  Encephalon  to  the  IIuman 
Body. 

We  have  already  seen,  that  foituses  have  been  formed  with- 
out any  brain.  Of  course,  they  could  not  live  long.  Other 
cases  have  been  stated,  where  the  whole  of  the  cerebral  mass 
has  been  let  out  of  the  cranium,  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating 
delivery,  and  yet,  life  has  remained  some  hours  afterwards. 
The  fact,  that  fostuses  are  sometimes  born  without  any  brain, 
or  spinal  chord,  does  not,  certainly,  seem  to  favor  the  assump- 
tion, that  the  brain  is  the  point  from  which  all  the  nerves  ori- 
ginate. It  is  far  more  probable,  that  the  nerves  of  sensation, 
properly  speaking,  originate  or  commence  in  the  extremes  of 
the  system,  and  from  the  surface  thus  transmit  impressions 
up  to  the  sensorial  centre  in  the  brain. f 

That  vitality  does  not  depend  so  much  upon  the  brain  as 

*  Spurzheiin  exposed  himself  to  this  censure,  as  the  reader  will  see 
bv  consulting  Dr.  Eliiotson's  Humaa  Physiology,  5th  London  edition, 
1849,  8vo.,  p.  1147. 

t  Dr.  R.  Nelson  states,  that  on  dissecting  two  moles,  he  found  the 
optic  nerve  did  not  extend  to  the  brain  If  these  animals  do  not  use 
ihe  eye,  there  is  no  necessity  for  connecting  the  eye  with  the  brain. — 
On  the  same  principle  of  nature,  we  I  nd  the  fish  in  the  celebrated  Mam- 
moth Cave  in  Kentucky,  have  no  eyes — simply  because  they  have  no 
use  for  them. 


130  PATHETISX 

many  have  supposed, — and,  indeed,  that  all  the  functions  of 
the  vital  or  animal  economy  may  he  carried  on,  for  a  time, 
without  it,  is  further  proved  from  the  fact,  that  all  the  other 
parts  of  the  body  are  formed,  and  considerably  developed,  even 
before  the  brain  and  spinal  chord  have  assumed  any  degree  of 
consistence,  more  than  the  white  of  an  egg,  and,  consequent- 
ly, are  utterly  incapable  of  any  functional  power.  Magendie 
mentions  the  case  of  a  girl,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  eleven 
years,  with  the  use  of  her  senses,  and  with  feeble  voluntary 
motion,  but  sufficient  for  her  wants  and  progression.  After 
death,  no  cerebellum  nor  mesocephalon  could  be  found.  In 
1673,  M.  Duverney  removed  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum 
from  a  pigeon,  and  found  that  the  animal  lived  for  some  time, 
and  searched  for  its  food.  Mr.  Lawrence  saw  a  child  four 
days  old,  without  any  encephalon  except  a  mere  bulb,  which 
was  a  continuation  for  about  an  inch  above  the  foramen  occi- 
pitale  from  the  spinal  chord.  Its  breathing  and  temperature 
were  natural.*  Mr.  Ollivier  saw  another  case  of  the  same 
deficiency,  and  the  child  not  only  cried  and  sucked,  but 
squeezed  with  its  hand;  and  another  is  mentioned  by  Lolle- 
mand,  which  lived  three  days. 

Dr.  Kaan,  a  century  since,  observed  a  frog  move  all  its 
limbs  half  an  hour  after  its  head  had  been  cut  off,  and  even 
after  its  body  had  been  divided  in  two.  Foutana  declares,  that 
after  removing  the  brain  of  a  turtle,  and  entirely  emptying 
the  cranium,  it  lived  six  months,  and  walked  as  before.  Mr. 
Flurens  took  both  hemispheres  from  a  chicken,  and  yet  it 
walked,  flew,  shook  its  wings,  and  cleaned  them  with  its  beak, 
as  before.  A  viper,  after  decapitation,  moved  towards  a  heap 
of  stones  where  it  had  been  accustomed  to  hide  itself  Rede 
extracted  the  brain  of  a  land  tortoise,  and  it  lived  and  walked 
for  SIX  months  afterwards.  Magendie  says,  "  it  is  droll  to  see 
animals  skip  and  jump  about  of  their  own  accord,  after  you 
have  taken  out  all  their  brains,  a  little  before  the  optic  tuber- 
cles. New  born  kittens  tumble  over  in  all  directions,  and 
walk  so  nimbly,  if  you  cut  out  their  hemispheres,  that  it  is 

•  Med.  Chir.  Trans,  vol.  v.  p.  166. 


PHEENOPATHY.  131 

quite  astonishing."    And  he  speaks  of  a  hedgehog,  which 
gratified  him  in  this  way  two  hours  after  the  operation  ! 

We  are  told,  thai  in  foetuses  full  grown,  without  any  ence- 
phalon,  or  even  spinal  chord,  the  circulation,  nutrition,  secre- 
tions, &c.  proceed  equally  as  in  others,  which,  besides  a  spinal 
chord  and  ganglia,  possess  also  a  brain.  These  facts  would 
seena  conclusive  against  the  supposition,  that  the  brain  is  a 
kind  of  galvanic  battery,  which  supplies  vitality  or  nervous 
power  to  the  other  portions  of  the  system.  As  it  is  the  last 
part  formed  or  matured,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  its 
relation  to  the  body  is  secondary,  when  compared  with  the 
heart  and  other  organs  in  that  region.  It  is,  certainly,  a  law 
of  nature,  that  those  organs,  in  living  bodies,  should  be  first 
produced  and  developed,  whose  functions  are  most  essential 
in  the  vital  economy;  and  hence,  we  find  the  formations  com- 
mence with  the  solar  plexus,  the  ganglia  of  the  dorsal  region, 
together  with  the  heart  and  blood-vessels.  And  if  what  has 
been  offered  in  a  preceding  chapter  be  correct,  with  regard  to 
the  peculiar  functions  of  the  ganglionic  system,  we  may  see 
why  it  is  that  there  seem  to  be  more  ganglia  in  the  dorsal  and 
lumbar  regions,  than  have  been  found  in  all  the  other  parts  of 
the  system ;  and  it  will  explain  a  number  of  phenomena 
which  have  hitherto  remained  in  the  dark.  As,  for  instance : — 

1.  That  the  sensation  of  sympathy  is  generally  felt  in  the 
region  of  the  solar  plexus.  When  this  feeling  is  powerfully 
excited,  the  hand  is  instinctively  placed  upon  the  epigastrium. 

2.  That  the  five  external  senses  are  sometimes,  by  disease, 
transposed  and  located  in  this  region.  In  cases  of  catalepsy 
and  trance,  persons  have  been  unable  to  hear  or  see,  except 
from  this  region. 

3.  In  many  cases  of  somnipathy,  I  have  been  unable  to 
cause  the  patient  to  see  or  hear  any  thing,  except  from  the  pit 
of  the  stomach. 

4.  A  slight  blow  upon  this  region  has  frequently  occasioned 
instant  death;  while  severe  blows  upon  the  head,  or  mutila- 
tions, or  even  the  destruction  of  the  brain,  did  not  immediately 
destroy  life. 

5.  These  ganglia,  and,  indeed,  the  ganglionic  system,  as  I 


132  rATIlETlSM. 

have  stated  before,  have  been  found  fully  developed  in  those 
ftctuscs  bom  without  a  brain  or  spinal  marrow.  Hence  it  is 
plain,  that  the  animal  or  vital  functions  can  be  carried  on 
without  a  brain,  but  not  without  the  ganglia  and  solar  plexus. 

6.  It  explains  the  reasons  why  the  heart  continues  its  func- 
tions after  the  head  has  been  struck  from  the  body.  Dr.  Bor- 
tels  declares,  that  Avhen  he  opened  the  chests  of  six  men,  in 
182G,  immediately  after  decapitation,  near  Marbourg,  he  found 
the  hearts  beating  regularly  for  half  an  hour  afterwards;  and, 
when  languishing,  they  were  excited  by  irritating  the  great 
sympathetic  nerve, — and  yet,  irritation  of  the  spinal  chord  had 
no  effect  on  the  heart  whatever,  though  it  did  affect  the  mus- 
cles of  the  trunk.  And  he  further  informs  us,  that  on  dividing 
the  cardia  plexus,  the  action  of  the  heart  ceased  instantly.* 
And  after  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum  of  a  man  had  been 
entirely  blown  off  by  an  explosion  of  firearms,  the  circulation 
and  respiration  continued  for  more  than  half  an  hour. 

There  are  many  plausible  reasons  for  supposing,  that  the 
different  parts  of  the  system  are  commenced,  in  the  process  of 
formation,  independently  of  each  other;  and  hence  it  is,  that 
foBtuses  are  born  with  parts  wanting  or  redundant. f 

2.  Hemispheres. 

It  seems  necessary  that  we  should  take  cognizance  of  the 
division  of  the  encephalon  into  two  brains,  as  it  were;  for, 
like  the  organs  of  animal  life,  it  is  double,  and  hence  the  im- 
pressions made  upon  it,  though  they  are,  in  fact,  double,  are 
perceived  as  one,  the  same  as  the  double  impressions  made 
upon  the  eyes  and  ears  are  one.  Hence,  all  the  mental  func- 
tions must  be  double,  so  that  when  we  speak  of  an  organ,  the 
term  includes  two,  one  in  each  hemisphere  of  the  brain.  This 
accounts  for  the  fact,  that  when  one  side  of  the  brain  is  some- 
times seriously  injured,  the  effects  do  not  appear  in  the  mind. 
And  it  will  be  seen  from  it,  also,  how  careful  we  should  be  in 
performing  experiments  in  Phrenopathy,  as,  if  the  fingers  are 

•  Bichat  says  he  had  observed  no  effects  on  dividing  the  cardiac  fila- 
ments. 

t  We  have  accounts  of  parts  of  fceinses  found  in  the  bodies  of  males, 
one  nine,  and  another  some  twenty-six  years  of  age. 


PHRENOPATHY.  133 

not  placed  on  precisely  the  same  organs  on  both  sides  of  the 
head,  there  must,  of  couse,  be  confusion  in  the  results. 

2.  Decussation. 

The  nerves  extending-  from  the  brain  to  the  body,  or  from 
the  body  to  the  brain,  cross  each  other  in  the  medulla  oblon- 
gata, so  that  one  side  of  the  brain  answers  to  the  opposite  side 
of  the  body;  and  though  cases  do  often  happen  where  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  body  is  affected  from  that  of  the  head,  as  in 
paralysis,  yet  this  does  not  always  occur.  We  have  exam- 
ples of  ague,  affecting  one  entire  perpendicular  half  of  the  sys- 
tem; and  of  persons  who  sweated  in  one  entire  perpendicular 
half;  and  of  persons  becoming  pale  and  emaciated  in  one  en- 
tire perpendicular  half,  while  the  other  remained  healthy. 

3.  Sections  of  the  Encephalon. 
1.   The  Cerebellum. 

Though  this  portion  of  the  cerebral  system  seems  to  be  a 
distinct  brain  of  itself,  and  therefore  peculiar  in  its  functions, 
it  is  usually  considered  as  a  part  of  the  cerebrum,  or  generally 
in  connection  with  it.  The  light  which  Phrenology  and  Ve- 
nesection have  shed  upon  its  functions,  would  seem  to  have 
fully  settled  this  question  beyond  all  possible  doubt ;  and  yet, 
we  have  recently  heard  of  attempts,  under  the  name  of  "Neu- 
rology," to  prove  that  Gall,  Magendie,  and  a  host  of  other 
anatomists,  whose  labors  have  so  much  enlightened  the  world, 
were  most  egregiously  mistaken  in  their  views  of  the  cerebel- 
lum, and  that  this  portion  of  the  cerebral  system,  instead  of 
having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  sexual  propensity,  is  appro- 
priated principally,  or  wholly,  to  the  function  of  nutrition. 

To  give  any  considerable  proportion  of  what  might  be  said, 
showing  the  real  functions  of  this  organ,  would  fill  a  volume 
by  itself  The  following  may  be  taken  as  the  summary  of 
what  seems,  now,  to  have  been  generally  demonstrated,  by 
Phrenology  and  pathological  investigations.  It  is  from  Dr. 
Jamison,  a  physician  of  high  distinction  in  England  : — 

"Since  I  became  acquainted  v/ith  the  science  of  phrenology, 
some  years  ago,  my  attention  has  been  directed  to  the  cond'i- 
lion  of  the  cerebellum  in  those  individuals  who  have  consult» 
ed  me  for  impotence,  and  in  others.     I  have  attentively  ob- 


j3i  PATHETISM. 

served  and  studied  a  f^reat  number  of  cases,  and  am  led  to  re- 
jO^ard  the  lbllowin;Tf  conclusions  as  correct.  I  hope  their  pub- 
lication may  have  the  elVect  of  directing  medical  practition- 
ers more  closely  to  observe  the  undoubted  connection  Avhich 
exists  between  the  state  of  ihe  genital  organs  and  the  cerebel- 
lum, and  a  disease  which  in  its  various  degrees  is  much  more 
prevalent  than  is  commonly  imagined,  and  is  the  cause  of  a 
great  many  evils. 

1.  The  sexual  passion  has  its  seat  in  the  cerebellum,  and 
is  energetic  or  the  reverse  in  proportion  to  the  size  and  tone 
of  this  organ. 

2.  Smallness  of  the  cerebellum,  much  inequality  of  its 
lobes,  and  deficiency  ofiis  tone,  are  the  cause  of  impotence. 

3.  When  the  cerebellum  is  very  small,  impotence  is  per- 
manent. 

4.  When  the  cerebellum  is  small,  it  soon  suffers  in  tone  if 
made  to  preform  its  functions  with  ordinary  frequency. 

5.  When  one  lobe  of  the  cerebellum  is  small  and  the  other 
large  in  a  man,  it  is  sometimes  the  case,  that  he,  at  in- 
tervals distant  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  large  lobe, 
performs  the  generative  act  imperfectly,  until  the  large  lobe 
which  had  been  exhausted,  recovers  its  tone. 

6.  When  the  cerebellum  is  very  large  and  is  much  exerted, 
as  it  usually  is  in  such  cases,  it  becomes  impaired  in  tone, 
and  impotence  is  sometimes  the  result;  but  the  generative 
act  may  be  well  performed  by  a  large  cerebellum,  even  when 
impaired  in  tone. 

7.  Average  endowment  of  the  cerebellum  is  most  favoura- 
ble to  permanent  potency. 

8.  When  the  cerebellum  becomes  much  deficient  in  tone, 
if  it  be  not  soon  cured,  the  spinal  marrow  and  its  nerves,  the 
organic  nervous  system,  the  intellect  and  moral  feelings,  are 
successively  debilitated. 

9.  Deficiency  of  tone  of  the  cerebellum  in  the  male  or  female 
is  often  transmitted  to  the  olfspring. 

10.  Impaired  tone  of  the  cerebellum  is  the  cause  of  sperma- 
torrhea. 

11.  The  size  of  the  genital  organs  exercises  no  influence 
on  their  activity  or  vigour;  they  are  often  inert  when  large, 
and  vigorous  when  small. 

12.  The  father  of  a  monstrosity,  an  account  of  the  post- 
mortem examination  of  which  I  published  some  time  ago, 
had  the  cerebellum  small  and  debilitated,  and  had  also  sper- 
matorrhea ;  he  was  permanently  weak  in  the  genital  organs, 
and  was  the  means  of  making  me  acquainted  with  many 
similar  cases,  and  their  peculiar  symptoms.  His  wife  be- 
came jealous  and  went  mad,  in  consequence  of  believing  that 


PH^1E^-0PATHY.  135 

he  was  unfaithful,  and  that  what  was  the  result  of  debility, 
was  caused  by  dislike  of  her.  She  died  in  a  lunatic  asylum. 
These  facts,  in  connexion  with  remark  No.  8,  render  it  prob- 
able, in  my  opinion,  that  the  subjects  of  abnormal  organiza- 
tion are  the  products  of  parents  whose  generative  apparatus 
was  diseased,  and  general  health  consequently  impaired.  I 
think  the  condition  of  the  cerebellum  in  the  parents  of  mon- 
strosities should  be  observed. 

13.  Permanent  or  frequent  impotence,  or  even  continued 
partial  debility  of  the  genital  organs,  in  men  who  have  large 
self-esteem  and  destructiveness,  and  benevolence  or  conscien- 
tiousness not  very  large,  often  produces  strongly  selfishness 
and  malignity;  and  also  cunning  and  falsity;  for  though  se- 
cretiveness  should  not  be  large,  it  is  so  much  exercised  in 
these  cases  to  conceal  the  symptoms  of  their  disease  and  pre- 
serve the  reputation  of  virility,  that  it  operates  as  if  it  pre- 
dominated in  size.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  remark  of 
Dr.  Cox,  *'  that  it  seemed  to  be  a  law  of  the  human  constitu- 
tion, that  when  any  of  the  faculties  is  pained  or  disagreeably 
active,"  destructiveness  instantly  comes  into  play.  Here  am- 
ativeness  is  mortified,  and  self-esteem  and  love  ofapprobation 
disagreeably  active,  and  destructiveness  becomes  consequently 
excited,  secretiveness  being  active  also,  malevolence,  cunning 
and  falsehood,  result. 

14.  Over  exertion  or  exhausliou  of  the  cerebellum  robs  ad- 
hesiveness and  combativeness  of  their  power,  and  thus  causes 
cowardice. 

15.  Whatever  exhausts  the  power  of  the  constitution, 
seems  not  only  to  diminish  the  power  of  combativeness,  but 
also  to  stimulate  cautiousness. 

16.  In  some  men  an  activity  of  the  cerebellum  greater  than 
what  we  would  expect  from  their  temperaments  and  devel- 
opments, may  exist  lor  a  long  time  without  producing  impo- 
tence; here  it  seems  to  appropriate  more  than  its  own  share 
of  the  nervous  energy  of  the  system  ;  the  other  organs  of  the 
body  suffering  a  diminution  of  power,  apparently  that  the 
generative  apparatus  may  obtain  an  increase. 

17.  The  cerebellum  is  in  general  too  much  exercised  in  the 
married  state. 

18.  When  the  cerebellum  is  too  much  exercised,  no  matter 
what  the  size  of  it  may  be,  it  becomes  impaired  in  tone. 

19.  Men  and  women  who  have  the  cerebellum  much  below 
the  average  size  should  not  marry. 

20.  Impotence  is  curable  in  all  cases  but  where  the  cere- 
bellum is  very  small  and  disorganized. 

21.  Fluor  albus  is  caused  by  deficient  tone  of  the  cerebellum 
in  many  cases. 


136  PATHETISM. 

22.  Deficient  size  and  tone  of  the  cerebellum  in  males  or 
females  is  a  cause  of  want  of  liveliness,  and  sometimes  of 
mclanciioly  and  madness. 

23.  Disease  of  the  cerebellum  is  often  the  real  cause  of  ab- 
surd eccentricities. 

24.  The  treatment  of  impotence  should  always  be  directed 
with  a  view  of  its  origin  i'rom  the  cerebellum." 

I  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  conclusions  numbered  2  and 
20,  without  some  qualification,  as  I  am  convinced  that  impo- 
tence is  often  caused  by  the  sameness  in  the  temperaments; 
and  if  so,  it  cannot  be  cured,  even  where  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  the  cerebellum. 

2.  Base  of  the  Brain. 

Facts  are  at  hand,  also,  to  prove  that  the  cerebellum  and 
lower  portions  of  the  cerebrum,  are  particularly  related  to  the 
muscles  and  limbs.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  unreasonable  to 
infer  this  fact,  from  what  is  known  of  the  functions  appropri- 
ate to  other  portions;  for,  as  the  upper  and  frontal  organs  an- 
swer for  intellectual  functions,  we  might  suppose  that  the 
lower  portions  would  hold  relations  with  the  animal  and  lower 
parts  of  the  system.  And  hence  we  find,  that  a  severe  blow 
upon  the  lower  and  back  part  of  the  head,  rendered  a  man 
paralytic  in  his  arms  and  legs.  And  it  may  be  noticed,  that 
paralysis  of  the  lower  part  of  the  body,  even  when  arising 
from  lesion  in  the  corresponding  portions  of  the  brain,  does  not 
affect  the  mental  functions  at  all. 

3.  Coronal  Region. 

It  has  long  been  known  to  Phrenologists,  that  the  lower  the 
organs  in  the  head,  the  more  their  functions  corresponded  with 
the  propensities  common  to  the  animal  creation.  And  expe- 
riments in  Phrenopathy  have  tended  to  show,  most  conclu- 
sively, that  one  pair  of  the  same  organs  are  more  elevated 
and  refined  in  their  functions  than  the  pair  below  it.  Thus,  I 
find,  the  first  pair  of  Amativeness  are  common  to  animals ; 
the  pair  above  appropriate  to  intellectual  enjoyment.  The 
lower  organs  of  Comparison  take  cognizance  of  things,  the 
upper  ones  compare  ideas;  the  lower  organs  of  Causality  are 
exercised  on  things,  the  upper  oa  metaphysical  subjects.    And 


rHSENOPATHY.  137 

it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  from  mere  animal  instincts^ 
which  relate  to  the  preservation  of  life,  and  selfish  gratifica- 
tion, the  organs  not  only  ascend  in  the  head,  but  also  in  the 
nature  of  their  functions,  till  we  come  to  the  highest,  which 
take  cognizance  of  our  relation  to  the  Deity,  and  a  future 
state,  not  excepting,  perhaps,  one  which  is  appropriate  to  cal- 
culating, or  perceiving  future  contingencies  ! 

4.  Frontal  Region. 

Here  we  find  those  organs  which  are  appropriated  to  sci- 
ence, intelligence,  and  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and 
which  distinguish  men  from  all  other  living  animals.  And, 
not  only  so,  but  the  size  of  some  of  these  organs  (others  in 
proportion)  distinguish  the  intellectual  powers  of  one  mind 
from  another. 

5.  Occipital  Region. 

In  this  portion  of  the  brain  we  find  the  balance  of  the  fron- 
tal region.  A  blow  upon  the  lateral  portion  of  the  occiput, 
has  been  known  to  restore  the  intellectual  functions  which  a 
previous  blow  upon  the  opposite  region  in  the  forehead  had 
destroyed.  Here  are  those  organs  whose  functions  control  the 
muscles,  and  give  the  power  of  physical  resistance. 

The  connection  between  the  brain  and  stomach  has  already 
been  alluded  to.  The  effects  of  a  blow  on  the  head,  or  from 
swinging,  or  turning  round,  or  the  motions  of  the  vessel  at 
sea,  are  well  known.  These  arise  in  the  stomach,  from  sym- 
pathy with  the  brain.  And,  in  like  manner,  the  brain  is  af- 
fected by  the  state  of  the  stomach,  as  in  cases  of  indigestion, 
poison,  and  intoxication. 

The  pathology  of  the  heart  is,  in  many  cases,  intimately 
connected  with  the  state  of  the  brain.  Hypertrophy  of  the 
heart  disposes  to  apoplexy.*  Dr.  Hudson,  of  Navoo,  has  pub- 
lished a  valuable  paper,  showing,  most  conclusively,  that  de- 
lirium is  connected  with,  or  produced  by,  certain  states  of  the 
heart  in  fever.  The  excitement  of  some  of  the  cerebral  organs 
increases  the  action  of  the  heart,  as  for  instance,  fear  or  ex- 

*  An  able  paper  on  this  subject  may  be  seen  in  the  Dublin  Med.  Jour. 
May,  1840. 

M* 


138  PATHETISM. 

ccssive  joy.  The  same  is  true  of  the  liver  and  lower  intes- 
tines. I  have  known  cases,  where  intense  menial  excitement 
has  produced  action  of  the  kidneys  and  defecation. 

4.  Excitement  of  the  separate  Cerebral  Organs  by 
External  Applications. 

It  was  long  since  demonstrated  by  Professor  Muller,  that 
some  of  the  organs  of  external  sense  could  be  excited  by  gal- 
vanism.    He  says, 

"  The  stimulus  of  galvanism  excites,  in  all  the  organs  of 
sense,  different  sensatiois  in  each  organ,  namely,  the  sensation 
proper  to  it.  In  the  eye,  a  feeble  galvanic  current  excites  the 
special  sensation  of  the  optic  nerve,  namely,  that  oiUght.  la 
the  auditory  nerve,  electricity  produces  the  sensation  of  sound. 
It  has  not,  at  present,  been  much  observed,  whether  peculiar 
smells  are  produced  by  the  application  of  galvanism  to  the  or- 
gans of  smell.  Rilter,  however,  has  perceived  them;  and  it 
is  a  known  fact,  that  the  electricity  excited  by  friction,  gives 
rise  to  the  smell  of  phosphorous." 

This  is,  probably,  ^!)e  first  account  ever  published  of  any 
excitement  of  the  cerebral  function;?,  by  direct  external  appli- 
cations to  any  part  of  the  system.*  Dr.  W.  Phillip  declared, 
many  years  since,  that  any  substance,  in  its  nature  stimulat- 
ing, applied  to  the  brain  about  the  origin  of  the  nerves,  excites 
contraction  of  the  muscles;  and  a  substance,  in  its  own  nature 
stimulating,  excites  the  heart  and  capillaries  when  applied  to 
any  part  of  the  brain  or  spinal  chord,  if  applied  to  a  consider- 
able portion  of  it. 

And,  considering  how  long  these  facts  have  been  before  the 
world,  and,  also,  what  has  been  known  for  years,  of  the  agen- 
cy of  pathetism,  it  is  marvellous  that  the  susceptibility  of  the 
cerebral  organs  to  this  influence  was  not  tested  many  years 
ago. 

Bichat  describes  a  series  of  experiments  which  demonstrate, 
as  he  thinks,  that  cerebral  action  does  not  directly  interrupt 
the  organic  fimctions.     He  says  : — 

"  Acephalous  foetuses,  while  in  the  uterus,  possess  an  or- 

*  I  quote  from  Walker's  Pathology,  p.  131.  The  extract  from  Mul- 
ler  iirst  appeared,  I  believe,  in  1834. 


PHRENOPATHY.  139 

ganic  life  altogether  as  active  as  the  most  perfectly  formed 
foetus;  indeed,  they  sometimes  discover,  at  birth,  preternatu- 
ral proportion  of  increase.  This  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
witnessing  in  two  fcctuses  of  this  description,  that  were 
brought  to  my  amphitheatre.  Not  only  was  the  face  better 
developed,  as  is  always  the  case,  because  the  cerebral  vascu- 
lar system  being  void,  that  of  the  face  is  'proportionably  in- 
creased; but  all  the  parts,  those  of  generation  particularly, 
which  generally  before  birth  are  scarcely  evolved,  displayed  a 
correspondent  plenitude  of  development.  Nutrition,  &:c.,  are 
therefore  as  active  in  these  as  in  ordinary  cases,  though  tho 
cerebral  influence  is  actually  wanting."* 

The  way  is  now  prepared  for  some  account  of  the  origin  of 
those  experiments  upon  the  human  brain,  which  have  given 
rise  to  the  term  Phrenopathy,  and  the  principles  by  which  it 
is  distinguished  from  Phrenology,  Cranioscopy,  and  the  former 
known  results  of  Pathetism. 

More  than  twenty  years  ago,  my  mind  was  interested  on 
seeing  persons  very  strangely  affected  by  religious  excite- 
ment, when  they  were  said  to  "lose  their  strength,"  and 
swoon  away  as  in  cases  of  catalepsy. 

This  phenomenon  led  me  to  suppose  the  existence  of  laws 
which  governed  the  nervous  system,  which  had  not  been  un- 
derstood, and  which  afforded  the  only  true  foundation  which 
could  be  assigned  for  any  thing  real  which  had  ever  taken 
place  under  the  nam.e  of  Mesmerism.  Accordingly,  I  deter- 
mined on  an  investigation  of  this  subject,  for  the  purpose  of 
sifting  it  to  the  bottom,  and  acertaining  how  far  the  nervous 
system  could  be  affected  by  pathetism. 

In  the  New- York  Watchman,  for  October  23,  1841,  of 
which  I  was  then  editor,  I  published  the  first  account  that 
everlappearedy  as  far  as  I  know,  of  this  process  of  operating 
upon  the  separate  cerebral  organs.  That  account  did  not  ap- 
pear till  more  than  two  months  after  I  made  this  discovery, 
which  occurred  as  it  is  there  stated.  I  had  been  engaged  in 
collecting  facts  on  various  "  Mental  Phenomena  ;"   and  un- 

*  Bichat  further  shows,  what  I  have  assumed  in  a  preceding  chapter, 
that  the  ganglions  do  not  transmit  the  cerebral  action,  (except,  it  may 
be,  sympathetically,)  inasmuch  as  the  nervous  system  belonging  to  theso 
bodies  is  perfectly  independent  of  the  cerebral  nervous  system. 


ItO  PATHETISM. 

der  tills  head,  was  then  publisliing  a  series  of  articles,  show- 
ing the  "  influence  of  the  niind  over  the  nervous  system." 
And,  while  preparing  those  articles  for  the  press,  I  commenc- 
ed a  course  of  experiments  in  Pathelism,  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  out,  in  ihem,  an  account  connected  with  the  state  of 
somnipalhy  ;  andliience  that  account  was  not  published  until 
it  best  fell  with  the  other  subjects  under  examination.  The 
first  operation  of  the  kind  was  on  the  5th  of  August,  1S41, 
and  my  published  account  of  its  origin  made  m  the  paper  as 
above  stated,  and  is  as  follows: 

"If  it  has  occurred  to  the  reader,  that  there  might  have 
been  some  collusion  in  the  matters  detailed  in  our  last,  in  re- 
gard to  what  was  done  by  the  somnipathist,  we  ask  him  to 
weigh,  candidly,  the  following  details,  in  some  of  which,  it 
will  be  seen,  deception  was  scarcely,  if  at  all  possible. 

"As  far  as  we  know,  the  following  phrenological  tests 
were  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  tried,  in  this  or  any  other 
country  ;  and  as  they  did  not  originate  w^ith  either  of  the  par- 
ties concerned,  the  reader  will  not  suppose  that  it  would  re- 
quire a  very  large  development  of  marvellousness  in  us,  to 
believe  that  there  was  something  extraordinary  in  these  re- 
sults. How  far  they  may  tend  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of 
palhetism  or  phrenology,  in  the  mind  of  the  reader,  will  de- 
pend altogether  on  his  belief  that  there  was,  really,  no  decep- 
tion in  either  of  the  persons  concerned. 

"I  had  noticed,  as  before  stated,  that  the  limbs  of  the  pa- 
tient could  never  be  made  to  obey  the  Avill  of  the  operator, 
when  the  brain  was  not  pathetised,  and  having  tested  this  fact 
a  sufficient  number  of  times  to  satisfy  myself  that  I  was  not 
deceived  in  this  matter,  it  occurred  to  mc,  that  particular  por- 
tions of  the  brain  inight  he  operated  upon  in  the  same  u-ay.  I 
therefore,  at  the  sitting  last  mentioned  [Aug.  5,  1841],  re- 
quested the  operator,  while  the  patient  was  asleep,  and  play- 
ing at  the  piano,  to  reverse  the  passes  over  those  portions  of 
the  brain  appropriated  by  phrenologists  to  the  organs  of  tune. 
He  did  so,  after  I  had  designated  the  places  to  which  I  refer- 
red. The  passes  were  reversed  a  few  times,  simply  with  his 
thumbs.  She  was  now  ordered  to  play  ;  but  she  replied,  that 
'  she  could  not  think  of  the  tune^ !  She  was  repeatedly  urged  to 
play,  but  uniformly  made  the  same  reply.  Satisfied,  as  I  was, 
that  there  could  not  have  been  a7nj  collusion  in  this  experi- 
ment, the  reader  may  easily  imagine  how  deeply  I  was  inter- 
ested by  it, — demonstrating,  as  it  did,  the  truth  of  phrenology 
in  my  own  mind,  beyond  the  shadow  of  doubt.      The  same 


PHRENOPATHY.  14-1 

thing  I  have  since  done,  and  seen  repeated,  on  diflferent  pa- 
tients, and  in  various  ways,  and  the  results  have  always 
been  the  same." 

Though  I  have  never  atttached  so  much  importance  to  this 
discovery  as  some  others  seem  to  have  done,  yet  I  am  thus 
particular  in  stating  the  dates  connected  with  the  results  of 
my  cerebral  experiments,  that,  if  any  account  of  a  similar 
process  of  operating  should  have  been  previously  published,  I 
may  not  seem  to  attempt  a  monopoly  of  what  belongs  to  ano- 
ther; as,  since  the  above  account  was  first  published,  it  has 
been  said  that  others,  in  different  places,  had  operated  in  a 
similar  manner;  and,  though,  at  the  time,  I  had  never  heard 
any  thing  of  the  kind,  as  no  account  of  the  process  of  operat- 
ing had  been  published,  previous  to  my  own,  yet  I  have  no 
doubt  but  the  same  thing  may  have  been  done  perhaps,  some 
years  before. 

Dr.  Cleaveland,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  informs  me,  that,  in 
1837,  he  used  this  same  agency  in  exciting  some  of  the  men- 
tal functions,  though  he  did  not  apply  it  in  the  same  way. 
Nor  is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  same  process  of 
operating  may  have  suggested  itself,  about  the  same  time,  to 
different  persons,  both  in  this  country  and  England.  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan, of  Louisville,  Ky.,  affirms,  that  he  performed  similar 
experiments  in  the  spring  of  1841,  by  means  of  a  "  galvanic 
fluid,"  on  persons  in  the  waking  state.  And  in  a  work  enti- 
tled "Sketches  of  Buchanan's  Discoveries,"  published  by  him- 
self in  1842,  professedly  to  give  an  account  of  his  discoveries, 
he  says : 

"  I  determined  to  excite  the  different  portions  of  the  brain 
by  a  galvanic  or  galvanoid  fluid,  and  calling  them  separately 
into  action,  to  watch  the  resultant  phenomena  ;  or  by  excit- 
ing them  in  myself,  to  enjoy  at  once  a  perfect  consciousness 
of  the  nature  of  each  faculty,  and  its  organ.  In  this  attempt, 
I  have  met  with  even  a  more  glorious  success  than  I  had  ev- 
er anticipated." 

And  then  he  adds  in  a  note,  page  10 — 

"  I  say  NOTHING  of  my  mode  of  operation  at  present,  as  that 
will  be  displayed  hereafter,  publicly." 


142  PATHETISM. 

From  this,  it  appears  that  Dr.  B.  himself,  in  presenting  the 
reports  of  iiis  numerous  experiments,  tells  us  that  he  had  not, 
and  WOULD  not,  then,  reveal  his  method  of  operating.,  or  ap- 
plying what  he  calls  the  "  galvanoid  fluid."  And  those  who 
have  read  his  book,  know  that  he  does  not  disclose  his  7nethod 
of  operating;  nor,  indeed,  has  he  published  any  account  of  it, 
that  I  know  of,  to  this  day.  And  I  frankly  confess,  that  I 
never  could  form  a  satisfactory  idea  as  to  what  his  peculiar 
method  was,*  till  I  heard  his  lectures  in  this  city,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1842.  The  truth  is,  we  were  deceived  by  his  professing 
to  have  discovered  "a  new  agency,"  which  he  claimed  to 
have  **  added  to  our  therapeutic  list,"  (page  21);  and  his 
disclaiming,  so  explicitly,  all  dependence  upon  what  had  been 
called  mesmerism.     See  his  book,  pages  55 — 62. 

The  origin  of  these  experiments  in  England,  is  fully  descri- 
bed by  Dr.  Engledue,  in  the  report  of  his  address  before  the 
London  Phrenological  Society,  published  in  the  Edinburgh 
Phrenological  Journal  for  October,  1S42.  It  is  there  stated, 
that  they  were  first  performed  by  a  Mr.  Mansfield,  December 
18,  1841. 

The  manner  in  which  this  process  of  operating  seems  to 
have  been  discovered  by  different  persons,  must  be  considered 
in  the  light  of  a  coincidence,  and  which  must  go  very  far  to- 
wards demonstrating  the  reality  of  that  agency  by  which 
these  results  have  been  induced. 

The  discovery  of  what  I  called  the  "sympathetic  points," 
or  the  susceptibility  of  the  mental  organs  to  the  influence  of 
pathetism,  when  the  hand  or  fingers  are  applied,  not  to  the 
head,  but  to  any  portions  of  the  face,  neck,  trunk,  limbs,  fin- 
gers, &;c.,  was  made  on  the  5th  of  January,  1842,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Watchman  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month.  On 
the  12th  of  February,  1842,  I  also  published  in  the  same  pa- 

*  Nor  will  the  reader  attribute  this  to  our  dulness  of  apprcliension, 
we  think,  if  he  has  ever  read  the  Doctor's  book.  And  tlie  editors  of  the 
Edinburgh  Phrenological  Journal,  it  seems,  were  equally  dull ;  for  in 
that  work  for  October,  1842,  they  speak  of  having  received  an  account 
of  Dr.  B.'s  discoveries,  from  liimseli",  (the  same,  probably,  published  in 
his  book,  ])age  SO,)  but  v/liich,  they  say,  did  not  vnike  it  appear  what 
his  inetliod  of  operating  was,  otherwise  ihau  his  disclaiming  mesincrism. 


rHRENOPATHY.  143 

per,  an  account  of  what  I  denominated  the  sympathetic  con- 
ductors of  the  human  system,  whose  functions  I  supposed  to 
differ  from  those  of  the  nerves,  both  of  motion  and  sensation. 
And  about  the  same  time,  I  arrived  at  the  conclusions  stated 
in  the  following  theory,  in  relation  to  the  laws  which  balance 
the  organs  into  ''positive  and  yiegative,'^''  thus  making  one 
opposed  to  the  function  of  another ;  but  no  distinct  account  of 
this  fact  was  published,  till  that  which  appeared  in  the 
Watchman  of  March  2Q,  1842. 

Besides  the  principles  generally  involved  in  my  theory  of 
Pathetism,!  consider  the  following  as  having  been  sufficiently 
demonstrated,  and  settled,  so  far  as  this  agency  is  concerned, 
in  proceeding  from,  or  influencing  in  any  way,  the  different 
faculties  of  the  human  mind. 

5.  Theory  of  Phkenopathy. 

I. 

That  the  Cerebral  system  is  appropriated  to  those  functions: 
which  constitute  Instinct,  Intelligence,  and  Reason. 

IT. 

That  the  Intellectual  powers  depend  upon  the  size,  ceeteris 
paribus,  and  proportional  developments  of  the  different  cere- 
bral organs. 

III. 

That  these  organs  are  susceptible  to  the  control  of  Pathe- 
tism, by  which  their  action  may  be  separately  suppressed  or 
excited,  at  the  will  of  the  operator,  by  manipulation  merely. 

IV. 

The  degree  of  their  susceptibility  depends  on  the  develop- 
ments and  the  state  of  the  sympathetic  system  ;  and  the  con- 
trariety between  the  temperament  of  the  operator  and  the 
subject. 

V. 

That  the  mental  functions  may  be  separately  controlled,  by 
applying  the  fingers,  or  other  appropriate  agencies,  directly 


144  PATIIETISM. 

over  the  organs  in  the  head,  or  to  different  sympathetic  points 
in  the  face,  iicck,  limbs,  &:c.  of  tlie  entire  system. 

VI. 

That  the  cerebral  organs  exist  in  pairs,  and  corresponding 
groups  in  each  hemisphere  of  the  brain,  and  their  functions 
are  balanced  in  opposition  to  each  other. 

VII. 

That  this  principle  of  antagonism  is  not  only  common  to  all 
the  cerebral  organs,  but  it  extends  to  the  functions  of  organic 
life,  and  by  it  all  changes  in  volition  and  motion  are  made. 

VIII. 

That  the  cerebral  organs  hold  such  relations  to  different 
parts  of  the  entire  system,  that  they  reciprocally  affect  each 
other. 

IX. 

That  this  connection  is  kept  up  between  the  mental  organs 
and  the  muscles  and  nerves  of  the  face,  and  thus  is  laid  the 
foundation  for  all  that  may  be  known  of  physiognomy. 

X. 

That  the  different  mental  and  animal  functions  are  control- 
led by  sympathetic  and  antipathetic  laws,  which  may  extend 
their  influences  from  one  organ  or  from  one  person  to  another, 
by  the  nerves  appropriated  to  these  influences. 

XI. 

That  these  laws  do,  sometimes,  give  perceptions,  without 
the  use  of  the  external  senses. 

XII. 

That  where  the  sympathetic  system  is  sufficiently  deve- 
loped, any  impression  may  be  made  upon  it  by  pathetism, 
which  comes  within  the  range  of  human  conception. 

Having,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  given  some  of  the  reasons 
•which  incline  me  against  the  prevalent  notions  with  regard  to 
the  agency  of  a  magnetic  or  nervous  jiuid,  supposed  to  be 


PHRENOPATHY.  145 

communicated  from  the  hand  of  the  operator,  and  received 
into  the  cerebral  system  of  the  patient,  it  may  here  be  suffi- 
cient merely  to  add  a  few  words,  in  confirmation  of  the  fore- 
going theory. 

1.  Each  of  the  cerebral  organs  may  be  excited,  as  we  know, 
through  the  external  senses;  hut,  excitements  produced  in 
this  way  do  not  differ  from  those  produced  by  pathetism,  and 
hence  I  infer,  that  the  immediate  agency  is  the  same.  If 
there  is  no  fluid  communicated  or  received  into  the  nervous 
system  of  the  patient,  when  his  Caution  is  excited  by  a  mere 
sound,  how  does  it  appear  to  be  by  a  fluid,  when  I  excite  that 
organ  by  merely  placing  my  finger  upon  it  ? 

2.  The  cerebral  organs  reciprocally  afiect  each  other,  in  the 
same  person.  Combativeness  excites  Destructiveness.  Com- 
passion excites  Benevolence.  But,  is  this  done  by  a  fluid  ? 
The  sight  often  excites  Combativeness:  if  this  be  done  by  a 
fluid,  how  comes  it  to  pass,  that  this  fluid,  in  passing  from 
the  optic  nerve,  or  the  organ  of  sight,  to  Combativeness,  does 
not  excite  the  numerous  intermediate  organs  ?  Who  can 
tell? 

3.  We  have  seen,  that  one  must  be  the  subject,  and  ano- 
ther the  agent  or  operator.  But  the  agent  may  excite  the  or- 
gans of  the  subject,  either  by  touching  him  in  any  given  point, 
or  the  subject  may  touch  the  agent,  and  the  eflects  are  the 
same.  Now,  when  the  subject  touches,  for  instance,  the  organ 
of  Benevolence  in  the  head  of  the  operator,  and  feels  his  own 
Benevolence  excited,  by  what  law  is  the  influence  directed  to 
that  organ,  rather  than  any  other  ?  I  humbly  conceive,  that 
the  only  rational  answer  that  can  be  given  here,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  foregoing  theory.  For,  even  if  it  should  be  admitted 
that  a  fluid  is  actually  received  by  the  patient  from  the  ope- 
rator, without  the  laws  of  pathetism  we  could  not  tell  why  it 
should  excite  one  organ  any  more  than  another.  If  it  should 
be  said,  that  the  fluid  passes  from  the  cerebral  organs  of  the 
operator  into  the  same  organs  in  the  brain  of  the  subject,  be- 
cause organs  affect  their  like,  I  answer,  this  is  by  no  means 
clear.  For  we  have  seen  above,  that  one  organ  in  the  same 
head  excites  others  whose  functions  are  entirely  different. 


HS  PATHETISM. 

4.  It  not  unfrequently  happens,  that  when  a  subject  is  un- 
der tlie  operation  of  one  person,  his  organs  cannot  be  affected 
at  all  by  any  one  else.  But  why  not,  if  the  brain  actually 
receives  a  fluid  from  the  hand  of  the  operator  ? 

7.  Mental  Organs. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  it  may  be  desirable  that  I  should 
give  some  account  of  the  bearings  which  this  agency  would 
seem  to  have  in  determining  the  number  and  location,  as  well 
as  the  functions,  of  the  mental  organs.  From  what  has  been 
already  stated,  it  will  be  seen,  that  we  cannot  with  safety  de- 
part entirely  from  the  Gallian  method  of  determining  these 
questions.  True,  Pathetism  affords  new  and  extraordinary 
facilities  for  bringing  out  the  mental  functions,  both  in  the 
sleeping  and  waking  state  ;  but  it  cannot,  for  the  reasons  al- 
ready stated,  be  depended  upon  for  fixing  the  precise  location 
of  organs,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  old  method.  TSTor  are 
the  difficulties  obviated,  by  operating  on  persons  in  the  wak- 
ing state.  We  have  seen,  that  in  many  cases  it  makes  a  de- 
cided difference,  when  the  operator  or  patient  knows,  or 
anticipates  beforehand,  what  the  results  should  be.  The  best 
way,  therefore,  is  for  them  both  to  be  ignorant  of  Phrenology, 
and  no  questions  should  by  any  means  be  asked,  or  any  thing 
said  or  done,  which  could  give  the  subject  any  idea  of  the  re- 
sults which  should  follow  any  experiment  in  phrenopathy. 
Operators  should  always  be  aware,  that  patients  are  very 
apt  to  anticipate  the  results  and  thus  train  themselves  into 
certain  habits  and  susceptibilities  jsecw/mr  to  each  case.  For 
instance  the  operator  makes  a  pass,  or  places  his  hand  on  the 
head  of  the  patient,  with  the  design  of  controlling  the  arm, 
and  he  says  to  his  patient,  'Raise  your  arm.'  Now  this  di- 
rection gives,  at  once,  the  appreheyision  of  the  effect  designed 
to  be  produced;  and  the  patient,  it  may  be,  makes  the  effort, 
and  finds  it  impossible  to  raise  his  hand.  So,  in  exciting  or- 
gans. The  fingers  are  placed  on  any  given  portion  of  the 
head;  and  if  he  says  he  feels  a  certain  emotion,  he  may  be 
easily  led  to  associate  that  feeling  with  that  place  in  his  head  ; 
but  whether  it  be  the  appropriate  place  or  not,  must  be  deter- 
mined by  other  things.  I  have  seen  heads  both  awake  and 
asleep,  turned  '  topsy-turvy'  in  this  way. 


PHRENOPATHY.  147 

Nor  are  the  accounts  which  patients  give  of  themselves 
to  be  depended  on,  alone;  for  though  they  may  be  remarka- 
bly correct,  in  some  respects,  they  do  not  prove  to  be  so  in  all. 
The  inference  would  at  first  thought  seem  to  be  well  founded, 
that  when  you  excite  any  emotion,  by  placing  your  fingers 
over  a  particular  place  in  the  head,  that  the  corresponding  or- 
gan must  certainly  be  in  that  place.  But  this  does  not  follow. 
You  place  your  fingers  on  two  points  in  the  face,  and  excite 
the  lungs;  but  the  lungs  are  not  beneath  the  surface  touched 
in  this  case.  And  even  if  you  should  affect  the  mental  organ, 
directly  under  your  finger,  the  laws  of  sympathy  might  cause 
the  results  to  appear  from  some  other  portion  of  the  system. 
It  should  be  remembered,  that  all  these  excitements,  from  ex- 
trinsic agencies,  are  more  or  less  morbid;  and,  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  case,  it  must  be  exceedingly  diiRcult  to  distinguish 
between  these  and  the  normal  functions,  or  to  tell,  in  each 
case,  precisely  how  much  is  to  be  allowed  for  sympathy  with 
other  excitements  in  the  system,  of  which  we  know  nothing 
at  all.  Indeed,  it  should  be  known,  that  the  phrenological 
organs,  m  some  subjects,  may  be  excited  by  touching  any 
parts  of  the  body.  I  have  excited  them  in  some  patients,  by 
touching  the  different  teeth,  in  others  by  touching  the  different 
fingers,  and  the  joints,  as  the  hnees,  elbows,  &;c.,  and  even 
the  toes  of  the  feet ;  nor  is  this  any  more  unaccountable  than, 
that  mirth,  for  instance,  should  be  excited,  by  tickling  under 
tlie  arms  or  any  other  parts  of  the  body. 

The  precise  number  of  mental  faculties  it  will  probably  be 
impossible  to  ascertain,  as  must  appear,  if  we  consider  how 
difficult  it  must  be,  to  distinguish  between  simple  and  com- 
pound functions,  or  the  action  of  one  and  the  combined  func- 
tions of  two  or  more  organs. 

The  only  way,  therefore,  for  rendering  this  agency  available 
in  fixing  the  location  of  the  organs,  is  the  following: 

1.  Become  familiar  with  the  laws  of  sympathy  and  antipa- 
thy ;  and  what  the  exciting  or  disturbing  causes  are,  which 
may,  in  any  case,  interfere  with  their  influences. 

2.  By  comparing  the  results  of  different  operators, 

3.  By  induction  and  observation. 


14-8  PATHETISM. 

Proceeding  in  this  way,  I  have  set  down  the  following  ad- 
ditions to  the  discoveries  of  Gall,  Spurzheim,  Vimont,  and 
others.     True,  I  could  have  increased  the  number,  ad  infiiw 
turn;  but  cannot  persuade  myself,  that  if  I  were  to  put  down 
all  the  manifestations  which  I  have  brought  out  from  time  to 
time,  that  it  would  be  of  any  special  service  to  science;  as  it 
is  by  no  means  perfectly  evident,  that  all  these  manifestations 
are  from  the  normal  functions  of  so  many  distinct  cerebral  or- 
gans.    For  instance :   is  there  a  distinct  organ  for  thinking  ? 
Are  there  distinct  organs  for  gaping,  squinting,  fouling,  for 
opening  and  clenching  the  hand,  pointing  the  finger,  turning 
the  head,  nodding,  whistling,  deglutition,  vojniting,  shaking 
the  hand,  looking  up,  opening  the  mouth,  &:c.  &;c.     It  has 
been  affirmed,  I  am  aware,  that  **  every  fibre  of  the  brain'' 
is  a  distinct  organ,  for  some  mental  or  physical  manifestation, 
and  that  every  actual,  possible,  or  imaginable  emotion,  per- 
ception, apprehension,  conception,  or  motion,  mental  or  me- 
chanical, is  performed  by  a  distinct  cerebral  organ.     If  so, 
there  must  be  an  organ  for  every  letter  in  every  alphabet ;  an 
organ  for  every  word  in  every  language;    an  organ  for  all 
kinds  of  food  and  drink ;  and,  in  a  word,  an  organ  for  every 
science  and  every  action  which  comes  within  the  power  of 
man  !     Who  can  believe  this  ? 

But  it  would  seem,  that  this  notion  of  the  infinitude  (so  to 
speak)  of  the  cerebral  organs,  has  arisen  from  a  want  of  at- 
tention to  the  nature  of  the  mental  functions.     We  find,  for 
instance,  an  organ  of  Causality,  or  two  if  you  please— one  for 
physical  or  mechanical  causes,  and  the  other  for  metaphysical 
subjects ;  both  together  embracing,  of  course,  all  the  causes  of 
all  things.   Now  it  would  be  just  as  reasonable  to  assume  the 
necessity  of  an  organ  of  Causality,  for  every  individual  effect 
that  has  ever  taken  place,  as  it  is  to  have  one  for  every  possi- 
ble action  or  emotion.  The  truth  is,  no  one  can  tell,  precisely, 
what  emotions  or  conceptions  come  out  as  the  results  of  one 
simple  function.    AVe  cannot  tell,  in  many  cases,  how  many 
organs  sympathise  with  each  other.     And  while  I  know  that 
the  same  results  may  be  produced  from  different  subjects,  by 
applying  this  agency  to  different  parts  of  the  system,  I  do  not 


PHRENOPATHY.  149 

see  what  is  to  be  gained  by  putting  down  every  manifestation 
as  the  function  of  a  distinct  organ.  It  seems  to  me,  therefore, 
that  the  better  way  is,  not  to  give  up  entirely  the  old  method 
for  determining  the  number  and  location  of  the  cerebral  or- 
gans. The  chief  assistance  I  havd,derived  from  this  agency, 
has  been  in  the  development  of  their  fuQctions.  Their  loca- 
tion and  precise  number,  must  be  left  for  time  and  observation 
to  determine. 

In  the  following  list  (first  published  in  the  Magnet  for  Oc- 
tober, 1842),  I  omit  the  results  I  have  noticed  since  that  time, 
and  also  the  old  organs  belonging  to  the  system  of  Gall  and 
Spurzheim.  All  I  have  found  do  not,  materially,  deviate  from 
the  locations  marked  by  those  distinguished  men  :  they  would 
seem,  rather,  to  confirm  them.  The  antagonist  organs  are 
also  omitted  in  this  enumeration,  except  in  a  few  instances. 
They  will  readily  be  understood  in  each  case,  without  a  dis- 
tinct specification. 

1.  Dread  of  Death.  Fear  of  dying,  unwillingness  to  pass 
through  the  struggle  of  death,  in  distinction  from  Vitality/. 

2.  Thirst.     In  the  group  of  Alimentativeness. 

3.  Smell.     In  the  same  group. 

4.  Taste.  The  power  of  distinguishing  flavors,  as  distinct 
from  Alimentativeness.     Connected  with  Alimentativeness. 

5.  Acquativeness.  Disposition  for  water,  as  in  bathing  and 
swimming.  Its  antagonist  function  would  seem  to  be  Hydro- 
phobia  ;  nor  is  it  improbable  that  there  is  such  a  negative  or- 
aran,  inasmuch  as  this  disease  does  seem  to  have  occurred 
spontaneously.*  That  the  brain  is  susceptible  of  such  an  ex- 
citement, is  certain. 

6.  Desire  for  Money.    In  distinction  from  Acquisitiveness. 

7.  Grief.  A  disposition  to  grieve,  to  sadness,  melancholy, 
gloom,  despondency,  and  despair.     It  is  the  opposite  of  Joy. 

8.  Anger.  Indignation,  the  feeling  of  anger,  with  or  with- 
out cause ;  and  leading  to  opposition,  resistance.  In  the 
group  of  Destructiveness. 

9.  Ravenousness.    When  excited,  it  gives  an  appetite  for 

*  See  Med.  Chir.  Review,  Jan.  1341,  p.  231. 

N* 


150  PATHETISM- 

gormandising  snakes  or  reptiles  of  any  kind.     In  the  group 
with  Alimentaliveness. 

10.  Desire  for  Hoarding  up  Treasures.  When  excited 
produces  Covetousness,  as  distinguished  from  Acquisitiveness^ 
or  the  mere  desire  to  procure,  acquire.  In  the  group  witli 
Acquisitiveness. 

11.  Physical  Fear.  Fear  of  pain,  physical  suffering.  In 
the  group  with  Caution. 

12.  Discontent.  When  excited  makes  one  discontented 
with  his  condition,  giving  a  desire  for  a  change.  In  the  fa- 
mily of  Combativeness. 

13.  Inquisitiveness.  A  desire  to  pry  into,  to  find  out,  what 
concerns  the  affairs  of  others. 

14.  Desire  for  Precious  Things.  Makes  one  fond  of  dia- 
monds, jewels,  &;c. 

15.  Love  of  Stimulants.  Gives  an  appetite  for  intoxicating 
drinks  and  hot  substances,  such  as  vinegar,  pepper,  &c. 

16.  Desire  for  Protection.  Giving  a  sense  of  dependence, 
helplessness.    Opposed  to  a  sense  of  independence  and  safety. 

17.  Praise.  Disposed  to  praise  and  flattery.  Makes  one 
delight  in  speaking  well  of  those  around  him. 

18.  Censure.     Disposed  to  find  fault,  to  censure,  criminate. 

19.  Deception.    Gives  the  power  of  deceiving  by  falsehood. 

20.  Disguise.     Gives  the  power  of  acting  the  hypocrite. 

21.  Boasting.    Disposition  for  speaking  in  one's  own  praise. 

22.  Aversion.  The  feeling  which  says,  "  Go  away,  let  me 
alone,  do  not  trouble  me,  I  do  not  like  your  company." 

23.  Retribution.  Disposition  for  punishing  one  who  has 
wronged  or  offended  us.  When  excited,  it  purposes  sly  mur- 
der. 

24.  Covetousness.  Tenacity  in  keeping  money  when  it  is 
once  possessed.     Acquisitiveness  procures  it. 

25.  Contradiction.     Disposed  to  contradict,  to  cavil. 

26.  Watchfulness.  Constant  solicitude,  anticipation  of 
time  and  events. 

27.  Jealousy.  Unwillingness  to  have  any  one  else  liked  so 
well  as  self. 

28.  Suspicion.  Inclined  to  imagine  evil  without  any  rea- 
son. 


PHRENOPATHY.  151 

29.  Sarcasfyi.     Disposed  to  scornful,  cutting  expressions. 

30.  Hatred.  The  opposite  of  love,  disposing,  not  merely  to 
dislike,  but  to  a  feeling  of  malignant  opposition. 

31.  Courage.     Without  fear,  reckless. 

32.  Parental  Love.     Love  of  parents. 

33.  Love  of  Pets.  Giving  fondness  for  litlle  animals,  dolls, 
&c. 

34.  Love  of  Gifts.  A  love  for  things  because  they  are 
gifts,  keepsakes. 

35.  Love  of  Enemies.  Gives  a  feeling  of  pleasure  in  forgiv- 
ing injuries. 

36.  Love  of  Country.     Patriotism,  opposed  to  treason. 

37.  The  Will.  Giving  a  feeling  of  personal  identity,  and 
the  power  of  self-determination.     Wilfulness. 

38.  Self-Confidence.  As  distinguished  from  ^eM-esteetn. — 
Gives  confidence  in  one's  own  talents,  ability  to  accomplish. 

39.  Dignity.  Giving  a  sense  of  propriety  of  conduct,  re- 
moved from  meanness,  or  servility. 

40.  Ambition.  Giving  a  disposition  for  excelling  in  occupa- 
tion, profession,  talents,  or  character. 

41.  Desire  of  Display.  Disposition  to  make  one's  self 
known,  and  to  show  otf  to  advantage. 

42.  Dread  of  Ridicule.  I  once  examined  the  head  of  an 
unmarried  female,  who  had  been  tried  for  infanticide,  in  whom 
this  organ  was  unusually  large.  She  acknowledged  to  me, 
that  she  would  rather  die  than  be  exposed  to  ridicule. 

43.  Vanity.  As  distinct  from  Love  of  Approbation.  Giv- 
ing an  overweening  conceit  of  one's  self.  When  excited,  the 
words  are  minced,  and  the  head  kinked  back,  in  characteristic 
style. 

44.  Modesty.  Giving  a  shamefaced,  shrinking  feeling,  ac- 
companied with  blushing,  and  which  leads  one  to  hide  or  co- 
ver the  face. 

45.  Concentration — Recent.  The  power  of  confining  the 
attention  to  recent  events  or  subjects. 

46.  Concentration — Ancient.  Power  of  confining  the  at- 
tention to  past  events. 

Concentration  was  first  discovered  by  Spurzheim  or  Vimont, 


152  PATHETISM. 

but  I  put  it  down  here,  as  I  do  a  few  others,  because  I  sup- 
pose them  to  be  double,  as  they  seem  to  be  from  the  results 
of  my  experiments. 

47.  Perseverance.  Persistance  against  opposing  influences. 
In  the  family  of  Firmness. 

48.  Endurance.     Power  of  enduring. 

49.  Responsibility.     Sense  of  obligation,  responsibility. 

50.  Industry.  Giving  a  disposition  to  industry,  application 
to  labor.     Opposed  to  laziness. 

51.  Comprehension.  Power  of  viewing  things  in  masses, 
in  their  relations  to  one  another. 

52.  Calculation.  The  power  of  calculating  figures,  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  organ  of  number. 

53.  System.  Method,  giving  the  disposition  to  be  regular, 
doing  things  systematically  and  at  the  time. 

54.  Conservativeness.     As  opposed  to  Destructiveness. 

55.  Harmony.  The  power  of  combining  and  judging  of  the 
harmony  of  sounds,  as  distinct  from  Tune  or  simple  melody. 

56.  Things.    As  distinct  from  individuals,  or  Individuality. 

57.  Names.  There  would  seem  to  be  a  number  of  organs 
appropriate  to  language :  one  for  words,  one  for  ideas,  and 
another  for  names. 

58.  Light  and  Shade.  The  power  of  distinguishing  be- 
tween them. 

59.  Recent  Events.     The  recollection  of  recent  events. 

60.  Ancient  Eventuality.  The  power  of  calling  up  re- 
miniscences. 

61.  Comparison  of  Ideas.  There  are  two  organs  appropri- 
ated to  Comparison,  one  takes  cognizance  of^  things,  the  other 

of  ideas. 

62.  Prevision.  The  power  of  perceiving  and  calculating 
future  contingencies. 

63.  Generalization.  The  power  of  extending  the  mind 
from  particulars  to  generals. 

64.  Analysis.  The  power  of  analyzing,  taking  to  pieces, 
viewing  things  in  detail. 

65.  Remote  Causality.  As  distinguished  from  Recent  Cau- 
sality. One  enquires  for  the  immediate,  and  the  other  for  the 
first  cause. 


PHRENOFATHY.  153 

66.  Sense  of  Direction,  As  distinct  from  Locality,  or  a 
mere  recollection  of  places.  This  gives  a  recollection  of  the 
points  of  the  Compass,  and  the  relative  position  of  one  place 
to  another. 

67.  Desire  for  Seeing  New  Places.  Giving  a  disposition 
to  travel. 

QS.  Desire  for  Seeing  Ancient  Places. 

69.  Sublimity  and  Ideality.  In  the  portions  of  the  brain 
where  these  organs  have  been  marked,  there  seems  to  be  a 
large  number,  such,  for  instance,  as  give  a  taste  for  seeing 
Architecture,  Waterfalls,  Statuary,  Volcanoes,  Caverns,  the 
Heavens,  the  Earth,  Aniinals,  Birds,  Insects,  Storms,  Battles, 
the  Ocean,  Fruits,  Flowers,  Meteors,  Landscapes,  Pyramids, 
Sj'C. 

70.  Antiquities.     Desire  for  knowledge  of  antiquities. 

71.  Sense  of  Perfection.  Admiration  of  symmetry,  com- 
pleteness. 

72.  The  Beautiful.  Giving  a  sense  of  the  fitness  of  proper- 
ties and  things. 

73.  Contentment.     As  opposed  to  discontent. 

74.  Cheerfulness.     Disposing  to  animation,  good  spirits. 

75.  Joy.     Disposing  to  joy,  in  opposition  to  sadness. 

76.  Playfulness.     Disposing  to  play,  to  fun,  buffoonery. 
77-  Curiosity.     Giving  a  desire  to  pry  into  things  and  af- 
fairs which  are  not  immediately  made  known. 

78.  Fiction,     The  power  of  creating  ideal  events. 

79.  Confidence.     Disposed  to  trust,  without  fear. 

80.  Wit.  The  power  of  associating  ideas  in  a  new  and 
unexpected  manner ;  as  distinct  from  Mirth,  or  the  disposi- 
tion to  laugh. 

81.  Worship.  Gives  a  disposition  to  adore,  to  worship  ; 
appropriate  to  the  Deity ;  Veneration  is  applied  to  men. 

82.  Obedience.  Disposed  to  yield  obedience  to  superior  au- 
thority. 

83.  Gratitude. 

84.  Pity.  Compassion.  This  gives  the  feeling  of  com- 
miseration. Benevolence  bestows  the  gift.  Many  persons 
have  large  Pity,  but  small  Benevolence. 


154  rATHETlSM. 

85.  Faith.     Aq  organ  appropriate  to  the  exercise  of  faith, 
in  the  Deity,  and  a  future  slate,  as  distinct  from  Marvellous- 

ness. 

86.  Spirituality.     Giving  the  power  to  distinguish  between 

spiritual,  and  material  things. 

87.  Fear  of  God.    As  distinct  from  mere  caution,  or  the 
fear  of  bodily  pain. 

We  have  seen  how  the  action  of  the  organs  may  be  in- 
creased, in  certain  persons,  either  awake  or  asleep ;  but  that 
the  excitement,  when  it  is  extraneous,  or  when  it  is  out  of 
proportion  with  the  state  of  the  other  organs,  or  with  the  nat- 
ural and  healthy  state  of  the  brain,  is  morbid,  cannot  admit 
of  a  doubt.  Probably  no  one  will  feel  disposed  to  deny,  that 
an  unnatural  or  extraneous  excitement,  of  any  one  or  more  of 
the  mental  organs,  is  morbid.  I  say  unnatural,  because,  some- 
times, an  organ  may  need  exciting  to  its  natural  tone,  or  de- 
gree of  activity ;  in  such  cases,  the  action  may  be  perfectly 
healthy,  though,  indeed,  not  caused  by  any  inherent  stimulus. 
But  I  refer,  now,  to  those  excitements  of  the  mental  organs 
which  produce  the  remarkable  results  which  have  so  much 
astonished  all  who  have  witnessed  them;  those  excitements 
which  exceed  the  nature  of  the  person  in  whom  they  are  pro- 
duced. 

We  know  what  results  follow  Monomania.  A  man  of  good 
education,  and  intelligent,  called  on  me,  and  gave  the  follow- 
ing account :  "  I  see,"  said  he,  *'  constantly  above  me  a  man 
w^alking  upon  the  clouds  !"  But  where  is  he,  I  inquired  ? 
"  0,"  said  he,  "  there  !  there !  there  I!  he  is,  see,  see  him  ! 
See  !  he  has  a  cloud  wound  around  his  hat."  And  I  could 
make  nothing  so  real  to  the  perception  of  that  Monomaniac, 
as  the  sight  of  that  man  walking  upon  the  clouds. 

Another,  suffering  from  an  over  excitement  of  Marvellous- 
ness  and  Veneration,  told  me  he  saw  the  devil,  and  he  even 
showed  me  the  spot  where  he  had  had  a  fight  with  his  Satan- 
ic majesty ;  and  pointed  to  the  ground,  torn  up  and  scattered 
in  various  directions,  as  evidence  indisputable,  of  what  he 
stated.  Now  in  these  cases,  the  perceptions  of  these  Mono- 
maniacs were  as  real,  and  probably  of  the  same  character,  as 


PHRENOPATHY.  155 

those  produced  by  Pathelism.  A  short  time  since  I  excited 
the  Ideality  of  a  very  intelligent  lady,  and  she  immediately 
saw  and  described  a  very  singularly  looking  man,  dancing. 
At  another  time  she  saw  various  odd  looking  animals  and 
persons,  all  of  them,  undoubtedly,  the  creations  of  this  exci- 
ted organ.  Indeed  volumes  might  be  filled  with  accounts  of 
a  similar  character,  describing  visits  to  the  sun,  moon,  aud 
stars ;  and  of  which  we  may  make  just  as  much,  as  of  the 
man  seen  walking  upon  the  clouds. 

I  have  slated  that  the  action  of  the  separate  organs  maybe 
either  suppressed  or  excited,  both  in  a  state  of  somnipathy 
and  when  the  patient  is  awake,  and  I  will  now  bring  this 
chapter  to  a  close  by  giving  a  few  specimens  of  the  results  of 
these  different  effects. 

Soon  after  discovering  this  susceptibility  of  the  cerebral  or- 
gans, a  meeting  was  called  at  my  instance  by  the  proprietor 
of  the  New  York  Museum,  of  a  number  of  scientific  gentle- 
men, for  the  purpose  of  testing,  in  all  suitable  ways,  the  real- 
ity of  this  agency  in  controlling  the  cerebral  organs.  The 
first  meeting  was  held  at  the  Museum,  vSeptember  8,  1841. 
The  experiments  were  conducted  under  the  inspection  and  di- 
rection of  a  committee,  and  the  results  were  written  down  at 
the  time  by  one  of  the  Committee,  and  published  in  the  New 
York  Watchman  for  November  6,  1841. 

The  patient  had  been  perfectly  blind,  from  the  time  she 
was  six  weeks  old,  her  eye  sight  having  been  destroyed  by 
accident.  It  was  believed  by  those  who  knew  this  lady,  that 
she  had  no  knowledge  of  Phrenology.  Before  suppressino-  or 
exciting  either  of  the  organs,  it  will  be  noticed,  the  questions 
were  proposed  to  her  to  ascertain  what  their  action  was  in 
the  normal  state,  and,  to  see  how  it  would  correspond  with 
the  effects  produced  upon  them  by  pathetism.  On  being  put 
to  sleep,  the  experiments  proceeded  as  follows: — 

Q.  "  Do  you  know  me,  Mary  ?  " 

A.  "  Yes,  it  is  Mr.  Sunderland." 

Q.  "I  want  to  talk  with  you  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Do 
you  love  the  Savior  ?  " 

A.  "Yes,  I  love  the  Savior." 


156  PATHETISM. 

Q.  "  What  are  your  views  on  ihc  subject  of  religion  ?" 
A.  "  0,  I  think  a  great  deal  of  it.'' 
Q.  "  Have  you  faith  in  God  ?  " 
A.  "Yes." 

Q.  "Who  baptized  you  and  admitted  you  into  the  church  ?" 
A.  "  Dr.  Eastburn." 

Q.  "What  do  you  think  of  Dr.  Eastburn?" 
A.  "  0,  I  think  he  is  a  very  good  man, — I  like  him  very 
much." 
Q.  "  Where  do  you  think  you  ^ill  go  when  you  die  ?" 
A.  "  To  heaven,  I  hope." 

The  organs  involved  in  these  questions,   it  will  be  seen, 
were  Veneration,  Worship,  Love,  Faith,  Hope,  and  Adhesive- 
ness.    The  action  of  these  organs  was  now  arrested,  by  mere- 
ly reversing  the  passes  over  them.     My  questions  and  her  an- 
swers were  then  as  follows: — 
Q.  "  Do  you  love  the  Savior  any,  Mary  ?" 
A.  "  No,  I  donH  know  as  I  do." 
Q.  "  Have  you  any  regard  for  religion  ?" 
A.  "  No,  I  donH  care  ?)iuch  about  it." 
Q.  "Where  do  you  think  your  soul  will  go  when  you  die  ?" 
A.  "  O,  I  do7iH  know  much  about  that." 
Q.  "What  do  you  think  of  Dr.  Eastburn?" 
A.  "  I  don't  think  he  is  any  better  than  other  folks." 
Q.  "  Have  you  any  desire  to  go  to  heaven  ?" 
A.  "  /  don't  care  any  thing  about  it." 
These  organs  were  excited  and  brought  back  to  their  pre- 
vious state,  and  the  action  of  Acquisitiveness  was  next  arrest- 
ed in  the  same  way. 

Q.  "  Would  you  like  to  have  me  make  you  a  present  of  my 
watch?" 
A.  "  I  don't  care  much  about  it." 

Q.  "  Do  you  care  much  about  those  rings  on  your  fingers  ?" 
A.  "No,  only  for  the  sake  of  those  who  gave  them  tome." 
Q.  "  Suppose  some  one  were  to  take  all  your  money  and 
clothes  from  you  ?" 
A.  "  Well,  they  might  keep  them." 
These  organs  were  then  excited.: — 


PHRENOPATHY.  157 

Q.  "What  would  you  think  if  a  person  should  take  all 
your  clothes  and  money  from  you  ?" 

A.  "  I  should  think  they  were  very  cruel  to  take  them  from 
me,  for  I  cannot  get  mone}  so  well  as  other  folks." 

Q.  "Are  you  fond  of  property  ?" 

A.  *'  0,  yes,  if  I  could  only  have  enough  of  it." 

Her  action  of  TVit  was  next  arrested. 

She  was  then  asked  numerous  questions  calculated  to  ex- 
cite laughter,  but  without  effect.  The  operator  now  restored 
those  portions  of  the  brain,  by  his  will,  merely,  and  by  the 
feeling  which  he  showed  (by  signs)  in  himself,  she  was  thrown 
into  a  violent  fit  of  laughter.  And  when  one  of  the  questions, 
which  had  just  been  put  to  her  without  effect  before,  was 
now  proposed  to  her,  she  was  convulsed  v/ith  laughter,  and 
said  she  was  par'iicularly  fond  of  fun. 

One  of  the  spectators  having  suggested  that  the  last  exper- 
iments v/ere  not  satisfactory,  inasmuch  as  the  questions,  in 
some  cases,  would  give  her  (admitting  she  was  not  asleep) 
an  idea  of  the  olject  we  had  in  view,  Dr.  Channing  wrote 
down  the  follov/ing  questions.  Adhesiveness,  it  is  said,  forms 
attachments  to  friends.  It  will  be  seen,  that  some  of  the 
questions  do  not  relate,  at  all,  to  this  faculty.  This  was  de- 
signed  to  deceive  her,  in  case  she  was  not  really  asleep : — 

Q.  "  Do  you  love  money  ?" 

A.  "  Yes,  very  well." 

Q.  ^*  Are  you  fond  of  your  friends?^'' 

A.  "  Yes,  sir." 

Q.  "  Do  you  love  dress  ?" 

A.  "Yes,  sir,  more  than  I  wish  I  did." 

Q.  "Do  you  love  your  relations  better  than  any  body 
else  ?" 

A.  "I  don't  know;  but  I  find  friends  who  are  not  my 
relations." 

Q.  "  Do  you  admire  beautiful  things  ?" 

A.  "  Yes,  sir,  anything  I  can  get  at,  or  hear,  such  as  Poet- 
ry, &c." 

Q.  "  Do  you  love  to  he  with  your  friends .?" 

.A.  "Yes,  sir." 
o 


15S  PATHETISM. 

Q.  "When  they  are  absent  do  you  love  to  call  them  to 
mind?" 

A.  *^Yep,  I  do." 

The  operator  row  reversed  the  passes  ever  Adhesiveness, 
whoa  the  iiucstions  and  answers  were  as  fellows: — 

Q.  "  Do  you  love  dvess  ?" 

A.  "  0,  yes,  beL<er  liian  I  ought  to." 

Q.  "  Do  you  love  your  relations  better  than  you  do  oth- 
ers .?" 

A.  ''I don' I  knowy 

Q.  "Do  you  admire  beautiful  things?" 

A-  "Yes,  such  as  I  can  get  at — I  can't  see." 

Q.  "  Do  you  love  to  he  with  your  friendsV^ 

A.  ".Vo.'' 

The  ansvsrers  were  precisely  as  before,  in  every  particular 
t^xept  in  relation  to  the  organs  v/hose  functions  had  been  ar- 
rested. 

It  was  now  (secretly)  proposed  to  examine  the  effects  on 
the  organ  of  P kilovro gemfivencss.  The  questions  were 
written,  and  intermixed  with  others,  in  such  a  way,  as  to 
preclude  the  possibility  of  deception  Oil  her  part,  as  will  be 
seen.  They  were  numbsred  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  her 
answers,  both  before  and  after  the  organ  had  been  arrested. 
A  lad  about  twelve  years  old,  was  put  in  communication 
with  her,  and  asked  the  questions ;  and  her  answers  were 
taken  dowri  in  her  own  words: — 

1.  Q.  "How  old  are  you  ?" 
A.  "Twenty-six." 

2.  Q.  Bo  you  like  music?" 
A.  "  Very  much  ?" 

3.  Q.  "l3o  you  love  children?" 

A.  "  Yes,  dearly.^''     (this  was  said  with  great  emphasis.) 

4.  0.  "  AVhich  do  you  love  best,  very  little  children,  or 
those  half  grown?" 

A.  "I  love  little  iijfants  best." 

5.  Q.  "  Do  ycu  choose  your  friends  among  the  young?" 
A.  "No,  not  of  course." 

6.  Q.  "How  do  you  like  to  hold  little  squalling  babies  ?" 


PHSENOPATHY.  159 

A.  "  I  like  to  hold  them  to  get  them  quiet,  but  do  not  like 
to  hear  them  cry." 

7.  Q.  "  Do  you  prefer  the  music  of  the  piano  to  the  music 
of  babies?" 

A.  "  0,  yes,  I  like  the  music  of  the  piano,  but  don't  like  to 
hear  the  cry  of  babies." 

The  operator  ncv,''  reversed  the  passes  over  Philoprogeni- 
tiveness,  and  her  answers  to  each  of  the  questions  were  as 
before,  except  the  follovv^ing,  which  v/ere  given  to  those  cor- 
responding to  these  numbers : — 

3.  ''No,  I  donH  Wee  them." 

4.  "  /  don^t  like  little  infants." 
6.  "  /  don't  like  to  hold  them." 

From  which  it  v;ill  be  seen  that  her  answers  to  those  ques- 
tions which  involved  Philoprogenitiveness,  were  direcily  the 
reverse,  after  the  functions  of  that  organ  had  been  suspended, 
as  it  seemed  to  be  by  the  reverse  passes. 

The  following  example  will  shew  how  the  mind  of  the  pa- 
tient is  affected  under  these  excitements,  as  in  this  case  no 
questions  were  asked,  by  which  any  suggestion  could  have 
been  given  of  the  anticipated  effects ;  and  besides,  these  re- 
sults were  produced  upon  a  person  Vv'ho  was  blind,  and  with- 
out even  touching  the  head :  so  that  it  was  utterly  impossible 
for  her  to  have  any  idea  from  contact  or  by  any  other  sign, 
what  organs  were  pointed  at;  for  these  expressions  were 
made  by  her,  on  my  merely  holding  one  of  my  fingers  within 
an  inch  or  so  of  the  different  organs,  marked  below: — 

hidividuality. — "  0,  I'm  thinking  of  all  the  individuals  I 
ever  knew.  0, 1  have  knov/n  more  persons  than  ever  you 
did." 

Size. — [Holding  up  her  hands,]  '•  This  is  so  big — this  is  so 
small,"  &:c. 

Color. — "  0,  I  want  a  beautiful  pink  shawl.  O,  those 
beautiful  colors." 

Eventuality — Ancient. — "I  remember — O,  I  remember  ev- 
ery thing  that  ever  took  place  in  my  life." 

Nu7nher. — [Holding  up  her  fingers  she  commenced  count* 
ing,]  "  One,  two,  three,  four,"  &c. 


160  TATHETISM. 

Calculation. — This  excited,  she  commenced  enumerating — 
"  Ten  times  ten  are  one  hundred,"  &c. 

Tunc. — She  commenced  singing,  and  never  did  I  hear  sing- 
ing in  which  there  was  so  much  real  musical  expression,  as 
I  have  often  witnessed  from  persons  in  whom  these  organs 
had  been  excited. 

Comparison. — "  These  hands  are  both  alike.  O,  I'll  tell 
you  whom  you  are  like,"  &c. 

Causalih/.— [The  head  bent  forward.]  "  IMiy  is  it  that 
this  subject  is  so  much  misunderstood  ?  0,  I  can  tell  you,  'tis 
because  you  do  not  understand  it."  And  various  other  ex- 
pressions in  which  "  ichif  and  "  because"  were  used. 

Supplication. — "  0,  you  must  pray,  I  cannot— I  want  to 
pray,  but  I  cannot." 

Self  Esteem. — [Lifting  the  head  up,  and  bringing  it  up  in 
a  haughty  position.]  '*I  am  the  greatest  person  living. 
7  am  better  than  any  of  you.  Yes,  indeed  I  am."  We  never 
heard  the  emphasis  put  upon  the  pronoun  "7"  so  to  the  very 
life,  as  when  this  organ  is  excited  by  pathetisra. 

Wilfulness. — "  I  will  have  my  way — O,  I  don't  want  to  be 
crossed  by  any  of  you — I  ivill  have  it,"  &c. 

Physical  Fear. — "  O,  I  am  afraid,  I  shall  fall — help  me, — 
see  there,  I  am  afraid will  come  and  kill  me." 

Moral  Fear. — "  0, 1  am  afraid  to  pray  to  God  !  He  is  an- 
gry with  nie,"  &:c. 

Gratitude. — "  O,  I  am  so  thankful— you  have  been  so  kind 
to  me — 0, 1  do  feel  grateful." 

Conscientiousness  and  Acquisitiveness. — "  0,  I  want  some 
iQoney — is  it  right  to  love  money  ?  0,  no,  I  know  it  is  not 
right— but  what  shall  I  do  ?" 

Veneration  and  Comhativeness. — [The  head  was  imme- 
diately thrown  back,  then  forward,  the  hands  clasped,  as  in 
prayer,  and  then  jerked  apart  again.]  **  0,  I  want  to  pray 
— but  I  am  mad  with  you  all— O,  I  feel  so  mad,  and  yet  I 
want  to  worship." 

Hopa,  Joy,  Veneration  and  Faith. — [The  head  was  slightly 
bent  forward,  and  the  hands  clasped  as  in  devotion.]     **  0,  I 


PHKENOPATHY.  16  i 

am  so  happy !  I  do  hope  to  be  saved — yes,  I  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ.     O,  I  am  perfectly  happy— 0, 1  am  ia  heavcu,"  &c. 

Imitation  and  Mirthfulness. — She  immediately  commenced 
mimickiog  different  persons,  with  an  immoderate  fit  of  laugh- 
ter. 

And  so  of  the  other  organs.  In  each  case,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  tliat  the  excitement  was  removed  from  one  organ 
before  it  was  extended  to  another. 


CHAPTER     X. 


SLEEP   AND  DKEAMING. 


It  is  curious  enough  to  think,  how  little  we  know  of  the 
true  nature  of  natural  sleep,  when  about  one-third  of  our  en- 
tire existence  is  spent  in  this  state.  We  cannot,  of  course, 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  its  crjise  and  laws,  while  in  this  state, 
and  hence  we  must  stand  off  at  a  respectful  distance  from  its 
reach,  in  order  to  ascertain  any  thing  satisfactory  with  regard 
to  its  nature,  when  contrasted  with  the  waking  state.  The 
first  thought  that  occurs,  on  considering  sleep,  is,  the  rela- 
tion whicli  it  holds  to  wakefulness,  in  perfect  correspondence 
with  the  law  of  contrariety/  to  which  I  have  before  so  fre- 
quently referred,  and  which  so  beautifully  alternates  all  the 
states  both  of  tlie  mind  and  body.  Joi/ — Sadness ;  Love — A- 
version  ;  Resistance — Submission  ;  Patience — Discontent  ; 
Co7ifidence — Suspicion  ;  Intelleciiial — Animal ;  Wakefulness 
— Sleep;  Life — Death.  Sleep,  therefore,  is  the  negative  of 
the  waking  state.  But,  as  it  does  not  come  within  my  plan 
to  enter  minutely  into  an  examination  of  the  anatomy  of  sleep, 
my  remarks  will  be  confined  to  a  hw  of  its  distinguishing 
features,  that  we  may  the  more  easily  see  how,  or  in  what 
respects,  it  would  seem  to  agree  with  the  states  distinguished 
by  the  terms  Somnium  or  Somnipathy. 

It  has  been  said,  that  to  dream  is  to  sleep.  But  this  needs 
some  qualification,  inasmuch  as  by  Pathetism  we  can  often 
cause  persons  to  dream  who  are  not  asleep,  and  I  have  often 
made  patients  dream  of  any  given  subject,  after  falling  into  a 
state  of  common  sleep,  by  giving  them  certain  impressions  or 
directions  while  iu  a  state  of  somnipathy.  And  others  I  have 
prevented  from  dreaming  in  the  same  way. 


SLEEP   AND   DREAMING.  153 

1.  The  Villi. 

In  DroDortion  to  the  deajree  of  sounclness  of  the  sleep,  is  the 
control  of  the  will  over  ihe  muscles  and  mental  iacullies  sus- 
pended. Nor  is  it  in  the  power  of  the  will,  finally,  to  resist 
sleep.  It  may  be  deferred  for  a  v/hile,  but,  sooner  or  later, 
the  will  yields,  and  sleep  assumes  control  over  the  entire  sys- 
tem, so  tliat  every  muscle,  nerve,  tissue,  and  portion  of  the 
body,  is  made  to  feel  its  influence. 

Somnlpathy  is  never  induced,  at  first,  against  the  will  of 
the  subject.  And  even  when  it  has  once  been  brought  on,  it 
does  not  appear  that  the  will  of  the  patient  is  wholly  destroy- 
ed or  suspended.  Persons  in  this  state  have  the  pov/er  of  self- 
deter  miiiaticn,  though  not  of  self-control,  and  usually  exert  it 
more  or  less  accordmg  to  their  own  views  and  wishes. 

2.  The  External  Senses. 

Sometimes  the  external  senses  are  stolen  away  in  a  mo- 
ment, but  more  ordinarily  they  cease  their  functions  slowly 
-  and  by  degrees.  But  when  the  sleep  is  perfect,  the  senses  are 
as  really  annihilated  as  though  the  body  were  dead.  The 
sense  of  feeling,  seeing,  tasting,  smelling,  hearing,  and  the 
power  of  locomotion,  are  gone,  and  exist  no  more  until  wake- 
fulness summon  the  various  cerebral  functions  again  to  ac- 
tion. Hence  we  find  the  mind,  wlien  passing  from  T\''akeful- 
ness  to  sleep,  and  from  sleep  to  wakefulness,  is  in  a  state  of 
delirium.  Things  appear  confused;  and  it  is  easily  misled  in 
its  conceptions.  The  thoughts  wander  because  the  will  no 
longer  controls  them,  until  the  power  of  thought  is  fully  sus- 
pended, and  the  mental  functions  are  completely  reduced  to  a 
negative  condition. 

In  a  state  of  somnipathy,  generally,  the  senses  do  not  seem 
to  be  annihilated,  but  rather  transferred,  as  we  have  seen. 
And  in  these  peculiar  states  they  are  sometimes  heightened 
and  increased  in  their  intensity,  as  it  were,  a  hundred  fold. 

3.  Dreamirtg. 

When  one  or  more  of  the  mental  organs  are  active  during 
sleep,  it  is  called  dreaming.  But  this  activity  is  more  or  less 
partial ;  and  though  we  may  be  able,  frequently,  to  reason 


16  4  PATKETISM. 

correctly,  to  a  limited  extent,  and  though  the  mmd  may,  and 
does,  seem  to  have  many  very  remarkable  perceptions  in 
sleep,  yei,  it  is  always  more  or  less  incapable  of  distinguishing 
the  mere  ideal  from  realities.  Hence  v/e  have  the  grossest 
incongruities  in  our  sleeping  mental  conceptions,  without  the 
least  surprise,  and  at  other  times  the  most  beautiful  ideas  fiit 
before  the  mind,  when  it  has  no  power  to  retain  them.  I 
have  found  a  number  of  intelligent  persons  Vv^ho  were  unable, 
at  times,  to  distinguish  some  of  their  dreams  from  what  took 
place  daring  their  waking  stare;  and  they  would  frequently 
narrate  their  dreams,  as  matters  of  fact,  without  any  suspi- 
cion that  they  had  merely  dreamed  the  details  ihey  were  nar- 
rating. And  things  dreamed,  and  forgotten,  I  have  caused 
some  of  my  subjecis  to  remember,  by  exciting  portions  of  the 
brain  for  this  purpose. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  there  is  a  cerebral  organ  appro- 
priate to  the  function  of  dreaming,  and  if  so,  it  will  explain 
how  it  is,  that  some  persons  dream  very  little,  and  others  not 
at  all. 

In  a  number  of  cases  where  persons  have  been  troubled 
with  frightful  dreams,  I  have  given  perfect  relief  by  Pathe- 
tism;  and  in  others,  I  have  caused  persons  to  dream  of  any 
given  subject  at  pleasure.  In  sleep,  the  mind  may  have  all 
the  emotions  or  conceptions  which  it  ever  had  in  the  w^aking 
state,  and  sometimes  impressions  are  made  upon  it,  far  more 
deep  and  affecting  than  any  received  while  aw^ake.  The  rea- 
son is  obvious.  In  the  waking  state  of  consciousness,  the  at- 
tention is  divided  among  the  difierent  faculties  and  senses; 
but  frequently,  in  sleep,  the  forces  of  the  brain  seem  to  be 
concentrated  into  one  organ,  and  impressions  made  upon  it 
are  deep  and  affecting,  just  in  proportion  to  its  activity,  while 
all  the  others  are  dormant  and  inactive. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  relation  which  sleep  holds  to 
a  state  of  wakefulness,  and  how  strikingly  these  states  alter- 
nate in  harmony  with  one  of  the  laws  of  nature.  From  this 
fact  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  there  may  be  an 
organ  of  Wakefulness^  of  which  sleep  is  the  antagonism.   Wc 


SLEEP    AND    DREAMING.  165 

have  seen  that  it  is  a  law  of  the  humau  system,  that  the  ex- 
citement of  any  one  of  the  cerebral  organs,  suppresses  the 
action  of  its  corresponding  opposite  organ.  Love  suppresses 
hatred ;  joy  suppresses  sorrow ;  consciousness,  or  wakefulness, 
suppresses  sleep,  and  vice  versa.  This  supposition  would 
seem  to  throw  light  on  this  mystery,  and  to  be  supported  by 
the  following  facts  : — 

1.  That  natural  sleep  may  become  more  or  less  voluntary. 
Dr.  Reid  found  no  inconvenience  from  taking  food,  and  imme- 
diately afterwards  falling  into  a  state  of  sleep  sufficient  for 
two  days.  And  Quin,  a  celebrated  actor,  it  is  said,  slept  for 
twenty- four  hours  successively.  In  such  cases,  this  organ 
may  be  supposed  to  be  largely  developed.  And  may  not  this 
assumption  explain  the  reason  for  persons  immediately  wak- 
ing up  on  the  cessation  ef  any  noise  during  which  they  fell 
asleep  ?  A  miller  found  it  impossible  to  fall  asleep  without 
the  noise  of  the  mill.  A  person  has  been  known  to  fall  asleep 
withm  a  huge  boiler,  while  others  were  constantly  beating  it 
on  the  outside  with  their  hammers;  and  on  the  cessation  of 
the  noise  wakefulness  returned. 

2.  That  it  should  be  continued  in  certain  cases  so  very 
long. 

A  lady  is  mentioned  by  Dr.  Mac  Nish,  who  spent  three- 
fourths  of  her  life  in  sleep.  A  woman  in  Renault  slept  from 
seventeen  to  eighteen  hours  a  day,  for  fifteen  years.  De 
Moivre  slept  twenty  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  ;  and  Tho 
mas  Parr  slept  av/ay  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  Other  cases 
are  well  known,  where  persons  have  slept  a  week,  a  month, 
and  six  weeks  at  a  time.  Of  course,  nourishmeni  was  given 
them  during  this  time.  But  it  does  not  solve  the  mystery  to 
say,  that  sleep,  in  these  cases,  was  a  disease.  What  part  of 
the  system  was  diseased  ? 

3.  That  persons  are  often  able  to  live  so  long  without 

sleep. 

A  recent  number  of  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Jour- 
nal, contains  a  letter  from  Mr.  Robert  F.  Gourlay,  nov/  of 
Boston,  Mass.  giving  an  account  of  his  extraordinary  sleep- 


16o  PATHETISM. 

lessiiess.  Mr.  G.  says  he  was  Grst  bereft  of  sleep  in  the  year 
1833  for  six  weeks,  when  about  40  years  of  age.  Prior  to 
thai  time  he  had  never  suffered  for  want  of  sleep,  alihough  at 
times  a  little  sufficed  for  refreshment.  He  was  confined  ia 
London,  as  he  alleges,  by  British  tyranny,  three  years  and 
eight  months,  and  it  was  during  this  period,  that  a  habit  of 
lining  without  sleep  began  to  form.  During  his  confinement 
he  felt  very  little  need  of  sleep,  and  the  greater  part  of  his 
lime  in  bed,  which  was  never  more  than  six  hours  in  the 
twenty-four  hours,  was  given  to  reveries. 

Soon  after  his  liberation,  liaving  first  visited  Scotland,  he 
left  Edinburgh  for  America.  He  had  no  sleep  until  he 
arrived  at  Liverpool,  where  he  tool:  a  warm  batii  before  go- 
ing to  bed.  This  had  the  desired  eiTect,  and  procured  him 
a  few  hours  repose.  The  next  morning  he  embarked  for  N. 
York,  which  iie  reached  in  42  days,  without  having  one  wink 
of  sleep. — Immediately  on  landing  at  New  York  he  procured 
a  warm  bath,  got  into  a  comfortable  bed  and  slept  soundly. 
From  that  time  forward  he  did  not  sleep  for  three  years.  He 
took  laudanum,  but  thai  had  no  effect;  he  drank  vvhiskey  in 
the  hope  that  it  would  induce  sleep,  but  it  only  made  him 
sick. 

In  the  early  part  of  1837,  while  in  Ohio,  he  was  attacked 
with  erysipelas  in  the  leg,  and  during  five  months  v/as  with- 
out sleep.  He  had  recovered  his  health  in  some  degree  when 
intelligence  reached  him  of  the  death  of  two  of  his  children. 
— He  then  lay  two  v/eeks  in  great  agony,  and  from  that  time 
to  this,  a  period  of  four  years  and  six  months,  he  has  been  en- 
tirely deprived  of  sleep.  His  health  has  much  improved,  and 
he  entertains  a  hope  that  as  soon  as  he  is  able  to  take  exer- 
cise, he  will  recover, 

A  man  is  mentioned  by  Sir  John  Sinclair,  who  lived  to 
the  age  of  ninety-one  years,  and,  on  an  average,  slept  only 
four  hours  in  the  tv/enty  four.  Dr.  MacNish  says  he  knew  a 
lady,  wiio  enjoyed  excellent  Jiealth,  and  yet,  the  whole  period 
of  her  sleep  did  not  exceed  four  hours  in  the  twenty  four,  and 
she  never  slept  over  thirty  minutes  at  a  time.    Frederick  the 


SLEEP   AND   DREAMING.  167 

Great,  ond  John  Hunter,  slept  only  five  hours  during  the 
twenty-four.  It  is  said,  on  the  authority  crSir  Gilbert  Plane, 
that  General  Pichegru,  during  a  whole  ye.ir,  while  on  an  ac- 
tive campaign,  did  not  average  over  one  hour's  sleep  during 
the  twenty-four. 

That  persons  go  along  time  without  sleep,  fi-equently,  from 
menial  or  nervous  excitement,  we  knov/;  but  even  these  ca- 
ses may  confirm  the  theory  above  stated. 

4.  The  well  knov/n  effects  of  excessive  sleep,  or  continued 
wakefulness. 

Too  much  sleep  produces  dulness,  lassitude,  headache,  and 
even  death.  Boerhaave  speaks  of  a  student,  who  from  a  be- 
lief that  sleep  was  the  natural  state  of  man,  slept  eighteen 
hours  a  day,  which  soon  caused  his  death  by  apoplexy. 

Wakefuhiess,  too  long  continued,  causes  physical  and  men- 
tal imbecility,  fever,  headache,  inflammation  of  the  brain,  and 
insanity.  These  habits  would  seem  to  destroy  the  balance  of 
power  between  the  organs  of  wakefulness  and  sleep,  and 
hence  the  results  appear  precisely  as  if  the  sam.e  violence 
were  done  to  the  relation  between  any  two  of  the  others,  by 
which  the  harmony  of  action  and  influence  should  become 
perverted  or  destroyed. 

5.  This  assumption  is  favored  by  what  we  know  of  the  dif- 
ferent means  for  producing  artificial  sleep. 

Cerebral  effort  disposes  to  sleep.  Hence  all  persons  who 
exerc'se  the  mental  functions  to  excess,  require  more  than 
ordinary  sleep.  Every  thing  monotonous  produces  sleep.  Fill- 
ing the  stomach  with  food,  so  as  to  draw  the  vital  forces  from 
the  brain  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  its  contents,  has  the 
same  effects. 

Combing  ihe  head,  or  shaving,  or  holding  the  hands  upon 
the  frontal  or  coronal  regions,  produce  drowsiness;  and  if  the 
subject  be  susceptible,  placing  the  hands  on  almost  any  part 
of  the  head  or  system.,  v/ith  ihis  avowed  purpose,  will  dispose 
to  drowsiness,  r.nd  if  continued  long  enough  will  induce  sleep. 
The  application  to  the  temples  of  a  small  plaster,  made  of 
half  an  ounce  of  henbane  and  cne  scruple  of  cpium,  disposes 


168  rXTHETISM. 

to  sleep,  and  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  method  for  removing 
slecpnessness,  when  it  has  been  brought  on  by  grief  or  ner- 
vous excitement.  But  for  soothing  llie  nervous  system,  and 
removing  difficulties  of  this  kind,  ihere  is  no  remedy  equal  to 
Pathetism. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

SOMNIUM — TRAXCE — SOMNAMBULISM. 

There  is  a  most  striking  similarity  in  all  these  states,  which 
leaves  no  room  to  doubt,  as  to  the  agencies  by  which  they  are 
brought  on,  or  that  peculiar  state  of  the  system  favorable  to 
their  development.  And  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that,  while 
many  of  the  medical  profession,  as  well  as  others,  readily  ad- 
mit the  reality  of  the  phenomena  which  appear  in  a  state  of 
soranium,  or  trance,  they  set  the  whole  down  as  nothing  bet- 
ter than  humbugging,  if  it  be  once  alleged  that  this  peculiar 
state  has  been  induced  by  artificial  means. 

In  cases  of  somnambulism,  some  of  the  intellectual  organs 
appear  to  be  highly  excited,  and  it  is  certain,  that  many  som- 
nambulists have  been  known  to  do  things,  of  which  they 
were  wholly  incapable  in  the  waking  state.  It  is  not  unlikely 
but  that  the  medical  profession  will,  ultimately,  agree  to  call 
this  a  state  of  insanity ;  for  it  is  plain,  that  in  many  respects 
it  resembles  insanity,  both  in  the  nature  of  some  of  the  men- 
tal exercises,  and  also  in  the  muscular  strength  put  forth. 

The  books  contain  many  facts  of  this  kind — enough,  cer- 
tainly, to  satisfy  the  most  sceptical  as  to  the  existence  of 
what,  perhaps,  may  be  denominated  the  independent  sense — 
a  sense  which  sometimes  enables  certain  persons  to  see,  hear, 
&:c.  without  the  use  of  the  organs  of  seeing  and  hearing. 

A  correspondent  of  the  author,*  describes  the  case  of  his 
brother,  who,  while  asleep,  would  often  arise  and  write  poe- 
try and  long  letters,  in  a  room  perfectly  dark.  He  would 
make  his  lines  straight,  cross  his  t's  and  dot  his  i's,  and  make 
it  perfectly  legible.     He  seemed  to  be  clairvoyant  when  in 

♦  L.  Collins,  East  Bloomfield;  N.  Y. 


170  PATHETISM. 

that  state ;  and  would  often  tell  what  a  sister  and  brother-in- 
law  were  doing,  and  where  they  were,  when  several  liundred 
miles  off.  They  were  travelling  for  the  health  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  and  the  brother,  while  in  his  reveries,  would  tell  the 
state  of  the  health  of  the  invalid.  His  statements,  though 
many  and  often,  were  always  found  correct.  This  was  in 
1827. 

The  following  particulars  of  a  case  of  somnium  and  som- 
nambulism, I  have  from  an  eye  and  ear  witness,  who  was 
himself  a  resident  of  the  family  at  the  time.*  It  was  that  of 
a  young  lady,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  rising  in  the  night  and 
dressing  herself,  and  at  these  times  she  would  converse, 
though  she  was  evidently  in  a  state  differing  very  much  from 
her  usual  waking  condition.  She  v/ould  instantly  arise  from 
her  bed  at  the  sound  of  a  violin ;  and  after  dressing,  would 
engage  in  conversation  with  her  eyes  open.  At  these  times 
she  called  every  one  of  the  family  by  a  new  name,  which  she 
invariably  applied  to  each  when  asleep,  but  of  which  she  had 
DO  knowledge  vrhen  awake.  She  could  see  perfectly  v/ell  in 
the  dark,  and  would  often  read  in  any  book  in  the  darkest 
nio-ht,  when  the  shutters  were  fast  closed,  and  the  room  as 
dark  as  it  possibly  could  be.  At  such  times  she  not  only  read 
correctly,  but  would  tell  the  exact  time  by  any  watch,  howe- 
ver the  hands  might  be  moved  back  or  forward.  When  in  a 
siate  of  somnium,  it  was  common  to  go  out  with  her  to  the 
neio-hbors;  and  when  once  approaching  a  fence  nearly  as  high 
as  her  head,  she  put  her  hand  upon  the  top,  and  leaped  over 
it  with  perfect  ease. 

It  was  noticed  that  she  would  never  read  in  one  particular 
book;  and  a  neighbor,  with  the  view  of  detecting  what  he 
supposed  to  be  deception,  cut  out  a  paragraph  from  that  book, 
and  pasted  it  into  a  pamphlet;  this  pamphlet  he  then  put 
with  half  a  dozen  others,  and  handed  the  whole  to  her,  with- 
out her  knowing  what  he  had  done.  She  took  them,  and  on 
coming  to  the  one  v/hich  had  the  extract  in  it,  she  instantly 
threw  it  aside.     He  then  retired,  and  cut  out  one  word,  and 

*  Deacon  N.  Moody,  Hallowell,  Main«. 


SOMNITJ?r — TRANCK— SOMNAMBULISM.  171 

pasting  it  iato  another,  put  it  with  the  number,  and  again  re- 
quested her  to  read  a  paragraph  from  each.  But  she  instantly 
detected  the  pamphlet  into  which  the  word  had  been  pasted. 
He  then  cut  out  one  letter  only,  and  pasting  it  into  one  of  the 
pamphlets  as  before,  she  detected  that  one  without  opening 
it,  and  cast  it  from  her  as  before. 

A  lock  of  her  hair  was  cut  off,  and  taken  into  another  room. 
On  its  being  put  into  the  fire  she  perceived  it,  and  manifested 
much  pain  and  uneasiness.  Though  she  often  went  out 
among  the  neighbors  while  in  a  state  of  somnium,  there  was 
one  direciion,  in  which,  if  she  started  to  go,  she  was  imme- 
diately restored  to  consciousness.  She  was  finally  relieved  by 
beiag  taken  across  the  Merrimac  river  /or  this  purpose,  as  it 
was  said  by  a  reputed  witch*  that  this  process  would  prevent 
her  from  falling  into  that  state  again.  And  I  have  found  in 
such  cases,  that  almost  any  process,  recommended  by  certain 
persons,  will  be  equally  effectual  in  breaking  these  spells,  and 
arresting  those  abnormal  dispositions  to  sleep  and  somnam- 
bulism. The  process,  whatever  it  may  be,  wall  certainly 
prove  clfectua],  if  the  mind  or  susceptibility  be  sufficiently 
impressed  w^ith  an  apprehension  of  the  certainty  of  the  cure. 

Drs.  Righellini  and  Pigatti  describe,  from  their  own  obser- 
vation, the  somaism  of  a  man  servant  named  Negretti,  twen- 
ty-four years  of  age,  who,  from  his  eleventh  year,  had  experi- 
enced attacks  of  the  disease  in  March,  not  extending  beyond 
April.  March  16th,  1740,  after  going  to  sleep  on  a  bench  ia 
the  kitchen,  he  first  began  to  talk,  then  walked  about,  went 
to  the  diiiing  room  and  spread  a  table  for  dinner,  and  placed 
himself  behind  a  chair  with  a  plate  in  his  hand,  as  if  waiting 
on  his  master  the  Marquis  Luigi  Sale.  After  waiting  till  he 
thought  his  master  had  dined,  he  cleared  away,  and  put  all 
the  things  into  a  basket,  which  he  locked  up  ia  a  cupboard. 
He  afterwards  warmed  a  bed,  locked  up  the  house,  and  pre- 
pared for  rest.  Being  then  aw^akcned,  and  asked  if  he  re- 
membered what  he  had  been  doing,  he  answered  '  No.'  Of- 
ten, however,  he  did  remember.     On  the  18th  of  the  same 

*  The  far-famed  ''  Moll  Pitcher,"  of  Lynn,  Mass. 


172  PATHETISM. 

month,  he  wcat  through  the  same  process,  but  instead  of  go- 
ing to  bed,  went  into  the  kitchen  and  sat  down  to  supper. 
Dr.  Righellini,  with  many  others,  were  very  curious  to  see 
him  eat.  At  once  recollecting  himself,  the  man  said,  *  How 
can  I  so  forget  ?  to  day-is  Friday,  and  I  must  not  dine.'  He 
then  locked  up  every  thing  and  went  to  bed.  If  water  was 
thrown  in  his  face  or  his  eyes  were  forcibly  opened,  he  would 
awake,  but  remained  some  time  faint  and  stupid.  His  eyes 
were  firmly  closed  in  the  paroxysm,  and  he  took  no  notice  of 
a  candle  placed  elose  to  them.  Sometimes  he  went  against 
the  wall,  and  even  hurt  himself  severely.  If  any  body  push- 
ed him,  he  got  out  of  the  way,  and  moved  his  arms  rapidly 
on  every  side;  and,  if  in  a  place  with  which  he  was  not  well 
acquainted,  he  felt  all  the  objects  around  with  his  hand,  and 
showed  much  inaccuracy ;  but  in  places  familiar  to  him,  he 
was  not  confused,  and  went  through  with  his  business  well. 
After  Dr.  Pigatli  had  shut  a  door  through  which  he  had  pass- 
ed, he  struck  himself  against  it  on  returning.  Sometimes  he 
carried  a  candle  about,  but  on  a  bottle  beicg  substituted,  he 
carried  it  about  as  if  it  were  a  candle.  Dr.  Pigatti  was  cer- 
tain he  could  not  see.  Once  in  his  sleep  he  said  he  must  go 
and  hold  a  light  to  his  master  in  the  coach.  Dr.  Righellini 
followed  him  closely,  and  found  that  he  stood  at  all  the  cor- 
ners of  the  streets  with  his  torch  not  lighted,  waiting  awhile 
in  order  that  the  coach  Avhich  he  fancied  was  followinsr 
might  pass,  when  the  light  was  required.  On  one  occasion 
he  ate  several  cakes  and  some  salad  for  which  he  had  just 
asked  the  cook.  He  then  went  with  a  lighted  candle  into 
the  cellar  and  drew  wine  which  he  drank.  He  would  carry 
a  tray  with  Virine  glasses  and  knives,  and  turn  it  obliquely,  to 
avoid  an  accident,  on  passing  through  a  narrow  doorway. 
Dr.  Pigatti  once  substituted  some  very  strongly  seasoned 
cabbage  for  a  salad  which  he  had  prepared,  and  had  sat 
down  to  eat :  he  ate  the  cabbage,  and  then  some  pudding 
which  was  substituted  for  it,  without  perceiving  the  differ- 
ence. At  another  time,  having  asked  for  wine,  he  drank  wa- 
ter which  was  given  to  him;  and  sniffed  ground  coffee  after 
asking  for  snuff. 


SOMNIUM — TRANCE — SOMNAMBULISM.  173 

Dr.  Francesco  Soave  relates  the  case  of  Castclli,  the  pupil 
of  an  Italian  apothecary.  The  youth  was  found  asleep  one 
night,  translating  Italian  into  French,  and  looking  out  the 
words  m  a  dictionary.  They  put  oat  his  candle,  v/hen,  find- 
ing himself  in  the  dark,  he  began  to  grope  for  it,  and  went  to 
light  it  at  the  kitchen  fire,  though  other  candles  were  alight 
^n  the  room.  At  other  times  he  had  gone  down  to  the  shop 
find  weighed  out  medicines,  and  talked  to  supposed  custo- 
mers. When  any  one  conversed  with  him  on  a  subject  on 
which  his  mind  was  bent,  he  gave  rational  answers.  He  had 
been  reading  Macquer's  Chemistry,  and  somebody  altered  his 
marks.  This  puzzled  him,  and  he  said,  "  Bel  piacere  di  tog- 
liermi  i  segni,"  He  found  his  place  and  read  aloud,  but  his 
voice  growing  fainter,  his  master  told  him  to  raise  it,  which 
he  did.  Yet  he  perceived  none  of  the  persons  standing  round 
him  ;  '  and  though  he  heard,'  suys  Dr.  Soave,  *  any  conversa- 
tion which  was  in  conformity  with  the  train  of  his  ideas,  he 
heard  nothing  of  the  discourse  which  these  persons  held  on 
other  subjects.  His  eyes  seemed  to  be  very  sensible  to  ob- 
jects relating  to  his  thoughts,  but  appeared  to  have  no  life  in 
them;  and  so  fixed  were  they,  that  when  he  read,  he  was 
obserred  not  to  move  his  eyes,  but  his  whole  head  from  one 
side  of  the  page  to  the  other.' 

In  16S6,  Lord  Culpepper's  brother  was  indicted  at  the  Old 
Bailey,  for  shooting  one  of  the  guards  and  his  horse.  He 
pleaded  somnambulism,  and  was  acquitted  on  producing  ample 
evidence  of  the  extraordinary  things  he  did  in  his  sleep. 
There  is  a  somevv'-hat  similar  ctory  of  a  French  gentleman, 
who  rose  in  his  sleep,  crossed  the  Seine,  fought  a  duel,  and 
killed  his  antagonist,  without  recollecting  any  of  the  circum- 
stances when  awake. 

A  young  man  named  Johns,  at  Cardrew,  near  Redruth, 
England,  being  asleep  in  the  sumpter-house  of  that  mine, 
was  observed  by  two  boys  to  rise  and  walk  to  the  door, 
against  v/hich  he  leaned;  shortly  after,  quitting  this  position, 
he  walked  to  the  engine  shaft,  and  safely  descended  to  the 
depth  of  twenty  fathoms,  where  he  was  found  by  his  com- 
rades soon  after  with  his  back  resting  on  the  ladder.     They 


174?  PATIIETISM. 

called  to  him  to  apprise  him  of  the  perilous  situation,  but  he 
did  not  hear  them,  and  they  were  obliged  to  shake  him 
roughly  till  he  awoke,  when  he  appeared  totally  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  his  situation. 

In  the  following  cases  a  partial  increase  of  mental  power 
took  place,  as  is  sometimes  noticed  in  insanity  and  common 
dreams: — 

A  boy  dreamed  that  he  got  out  of  bed,  and  ascended  to  the 
summit  of  an  enormous  rock,  where  he  found  an  eagle's  nest, 
which  he  brought  away  with  him,  and  placed  under  his  bed. 
Now,  the  whole  of  these  events  actually  took  place ;  and 
what  he  conceived,  on  awaking,  to  be  a  mere  dream,  was 
found  to  have  had  an  actual  existence,  by  the  nest  being 
found  in  the  precise  spot  where  he  imagined  he  had  put  it, 
and  by  the  evidence  of  the  spectators  who  beheld  his  perilous 
adventure.  The  precipice  which  he  ascended  was  of  a  na- 
ture which  must  have  baffled  the  most  expert  mountaineer, 
and  such  as,  at  other  limes,  he  could  not  have  scaled. 

Gassendi  speaks  of  a  man  who  often  rose  in  his  sleep,  went 
into  a  cellar  and  drew  wine,  appearing  to  see  in  the  dark  as 
in  the  day;  but  when  he  av^'oke,  either  in  the  cellar  or  in  the 
street,  was  obliged  to  grope  his  way  back  to  bed.  He  often 
thought  there  was  not  light  enough,  and  thought  he  had  ris- 
en too  early,  and  therefore  struck  a  light.  He  tells  of  another 
who  passed  on  stilts  "  over  a  torrent  asleep  one  night,  and  on 
awaking  was  afraid  to  return  before  daylight,  and  before  the 
water  had  subsided." 

A  female  servant  in  the  town  of  Chelmsford,  England,  sur- 
prised the  family  at  four  o'clock  one  morning,  by  walking 
down  a  flight  of  stairs  in  her  sleep,  and  rapping  at  the  bed- 
room door  of  her  master,  who  inquired  what  she  wanted ; 
when,  in  her  ucual  lone  of  voice  she  requested  seme  cotton, 
saying  that  she  had  torn  her  gown,  but  hoped  that  her  mis- 
tress would  forgive  her,  at  the  same  time  bursting  into  tears. 
Her  fellow  servant,  with  whom  she  had  been  conversing  for 
some  time,  observed  her  get  out  of  bed,  and  quickly  followed 
her,  but  not  before  she  had  related  this  pitiful  story.  She 
thpa  returned  tq  her  room,  and  a  light  having  been  procured, 


SOM^nUM — TRANCE — SOMNAMBULISM.  175 

she  was  found  groping  to  find  her  cotton  box.  Another 
person  went  to  her,  when,  perceiving  a  difference  in  the 
voice,  she  called  out,  *•  That  is  a  different  voice — that  is  my 
mistress;"  which  was  not  the  case — thus  clearly  showing 
she  did  not  see  the  object  before,  although  her  eyes  were 
wide  open.  Upon  inquiry  as  to  what  was  the  matter,  she 
only  said  that  she  wanted  some  cotton,  but  that  her  fellow- 
seivant  had  been  to  her  master  and  mistress  making  a  fuss 
about  it. 

A  lad  named  George  David,  sixteen  years  old,  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Mr.  Hewson,  a  butcher  in  Bridge  Koad,  Lambeth,  En- 
gland, at  about  twenty  minutes  past  nine,  one  morning,  bent 
forward  in  his  chair,  and  rested  his  forehead  on  his  hands, 
and  in  ten  minutes  started  up,  went  for  his  whip,  put  on  one 
spur,  and  went  thence  into  the  stable;    not  finding  his  own 
saddle  in  the  proper  place,  he  returned  to  the  house  and  ask- 
ed for  it.     Being  asked  what  he  wanted  with  it,  he  replied  to 
go  his  rounds.      He  returned  to  the  stable,  got  on  his  horse 
without  the  saddle,  and  was  proceeding  to  leave  the  stable; 
it  was  with  much  difSculty^and  force  that  Mr.  Hewson,  assist- 
ed by  the  other  lad,  could  remove  him  from  his  horse;    his 
strength  was  great,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  he  was  brought 
within  doors.     The  lad  considered  himself  as  stopped  at  the 
turnpike-gate,   and  took   sixpence   out  of  his  pocket  to  be 
changed;    and  holding  out  his  hand  for  the  change,  the  six- 
pence  was  returned    to  him.      He  immediately   observed, 
"None  of  your  nonsense,  that  is  the  sixpence  again;  give  me 
my  change."      Y/hen  twopence  halfpenny  was  given  to  him 
he  counted  it  over,  and  said,  "  None  of  your  gammon,  that  is 
not  right ;    I  want  a  penny  more,"  making  the  three  pence 
halfpenny,  which  was  the  proper  change.     He  then  said, 
"  Give  me  my  castor  (meaning  his  hat),  v/hich  slang  term  he 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  using,  and  then  began  to  whip  and 
spur  to  get  his  horse  on.     His  pulse  was  at  this  time  136,  full 
and  hard ;    no  change  of  countenance  could  be  observed,  nor 
any  spasmodic  affection  of  the  muscles,  the  eyes  remaining 
closed  the  whole  of  the  time.     During  the  time  of  bleeding, 
Mr.  Hewson  related  a  circumstance  of  a  Mr,  Harris,  optician, 


176  TATHETISM. 

in  Ilolborn,  whose  son,  some  years  since  walked  out  on  the 
parapet  of  the  house  in  his  sleep.  The  boy  joined  in  the  con- 
versation, and  observed,  "  lie  lived  at  the  corner  of  Brown- 
low  Street."  Soon  after  the  arm  was  tied  up,  he  unlaced  one 
boot,  and  said  he  would  go  to  bed.  In  three  minutes  from 
this  lime  he  awoke,  got  up,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter, 
(having  been  then  one  hour  in  the  trance,)  not  having  the 
slightest  recollection  of  any  thing  that  had  passed,  and  won- 
dered at  his  arm  being  tied  up,  and  at  the  blood. 

The  case  of  Rachel  Baker,  or  the  sleeping  preacher,  as  she 
wa?^  called,  is  well  known.  This  lady  fell  into  bad  health, 
and  under  its  influence  she  disturbed  and  amazed  her  family 
by  her  sleeping  eloquence.  Her  parents  made  a  tour  with 
her  of  some  length,  and  visited  Nevj-York  and  some  other  of 
the  cities  of  the  Union,  I  know  individuals  who  have  heard 
lier  preach  during  the  night ;  and  it  v/as  customary,  at  tea 
parties  in  this  city,  to  put  the  lady  into  bed  in  a  room  adja- 
cent to  the  drawing-room,  in  order  that  the  persons  present 
might  hear  her  exhortations  and  prayers,  delivered  during  a 
state  of  profound  sleep. 

Dr.  Darwin  relates  the  case  of  a  young  lady  about  seventeen 
vears  of  age,  who,  every  day  for  five  or  six  weeks,  had  fits  of 
violent  convulsions,  then  retchings,  next  equally  violent  hic- 
cou<^hs,  then  tetanus,  and  at  last  somniloquism  and  somnam- 
bulism, becoming  insensible,  yet  singing,  quoting  whole  pas- 
sages of  poetry,  and  holding  conversations  with  imaginary 
persons,  and  coming  to  herself  with  great  surprise  and  fear, 
but  with  no  recollection  of  what  had  happened.  At  length, 
she  could  walk  about  the  room  in  the  fit  without  running  a- 
gainst  the  furniture,  and  evidently  had  some  external  sense  : 
for  she  took  a  cup  of  tea,  and  expressed  a  fear  that  there  was 
poison  in  it ;  and  seemed  to  smell  at  a  tuberose,  and  delibera- 
ted about  breaking  the  stem,  because  it  would  make  her  sister 
so  charmingly  angry.  She  once  heard  a  bell,  was  less  melan- 
choly when  the  shutters  were  open,  and  impatient  if  a  hand 
was  held  over  her  eyes,  or  her  hands  v^ere  held  down,  saying 
"  She  could  not  tell  what  to  do,  as  she  could  neither  see  nor 
move." 


S03INIU3I — TRANCE — SOMNAIklBULISM.  177 

Gall  describes  the  case  of  a  young  man  at  Berlin,  who  had 
extraordinary  attacks  from  time  to  time.  He  was  agitated  in 
bed  without  consciousness ;  his  movements  and  gestures  show- 
ed a  great  activity  of  many  internal  organs ;  whatever  was 
done  to  him,  he  did  not  perceive  it;  at  length  he  jumped  out 
of  bed,  and  walked  hastily  in  the  apartment ;  his  eyes  were 
then  fixed  and  open.  He  placed  different  obstacles  in  his 
way,  which  he  removed  with  his  hand  or  carefully  avoided ; 
then  he  threw  himself  suddenly  on  his  bed,  was  agitated  there 
some  time,  and  at  length  awoke  and  sat  up,  very  much  asto- 
nished at  the  number  of  curious  persons  who  were  about  him. 

M.  Joseph  de  Koggenbach,  at  Friburg,  in  Erisgau,  told  Dr. 
Gall,  in  the  presence  of  many  witnesses,  that  he  had  been  a 
somnambulist  from  his  infancy.  In  this  state  his  tutor  had 
made  him  read;  made  him  look  for  places  on  the  map,  and 
he  found  them  more  readily  than  when  awake ;  his  eves  were 
always  open  and  fixed  :  he  did  not  move  them,  but  turned  his 
whole  head.  Many  times  they  held  him,  but  he  felt  the  re- 
straint, endeavored  to  liberate  himself,  but  did  not  wake. — 
Sometimes  he  said  he  should  wake  if  they  led  him  into  the 
garden,  and  this  always  happened.* 

Professor  Upham,  of  Bowdoin  College,  speaks  of  a  farmer 
w^ho  rose  in  his  sleep,  went  to  his  barn,  and  threshed  out  five 
bushels  of  rye  in  the  dark,  separating  the  grain  from  the  straw 
with  great  exactness. 

The  Portland  (Maine)  Bulletin  of  November  1,  1S42,  refers 
to  the  case  of  Captain  Jeremiah  Brown,  of  that  place,  who, 
being  sick  and  confined  to  his  berth  while  at  sea,  saw  dis- 
tinctly all  that  transpired  around  him.  He  saw  vessels  as 
they  passed  him,  and  others  at  anchor,  told  what  took  place 
on  board  of  them,  the  truth  of  which  was  attested  by  his  mate 
and  others,  to  W'hom  he  related  what  he  saw. 

A  scientific  friend  of  the  author's  in  this  city,  describes,  in 
the  Magnet  for  November,  1842,  the  case  of  his  own  sister, 
who  would  become  exceedingly  alarmed  in  a  sound  state  of 
sleep.     Her  screams  would  arouse  the  whole  family.    Lights 

*  The  above,  with  other  similar  cases,  may  be  found  also  in  Dr. 
Elliotson's  Human  Physiology,  vdth  their  respective  authorities. 


178  PATIIETISM. 

brought  to  her  shewed  her  eyes  wide  open,  strearamg  with 
tears,  while  all  eflbrts  to  bring  her  to  a  state  of  consciousness 
proved  unavailing. 

A  patient  whom  I  recovered  from  a  dreadful  state  of  ner- 
vous derangement,  often  conversed  in  her  sleep,  and  I  have 
heard  her  repeat  some  of  the  most  beautiful  strains  of  poetry, 
and  of  which  she  did  not  seem  to  have  any  knowledge  en 
waking  up.  The  following  verses  I  took  down  from  her  lips 
ill  one  of  these  states  ; 

*'  Lost  lliou  think,  because  I  smile, 

And  joy,  and  wit,  and  friends  surround  me, 
There  is  no  torturing  thought  the  while. 
That  with  its  secret  power  can  wound  me  ? 

Ah !  know,  then,  I  have  schooled  my  heart 

To  stifle  every  wayward  feeling ; 
And  dearly  have  I  bought  the  art — 

Not  that  of  conquering,  but  concealing." 

The  case  of  ihe  young  ecclesiastic  related  by  the  Archbish- 
op of  Bordeaux,  is  well  known.  He  imagined  himself  one 
night,  in  the  midst  of  winter,  Avalking  on  the  bank  of  a  river, 
and  seeing  a  child  fall  in,  who  was  drowning.  He  instantly 
threw  himself  on  his  bed  in  the  posture  of  swimming — per- 
formed the  motions  of  swimming,  till  he  seemed  to  have  fa- 
tigued himself,  when  he  felt  on  the  corner  of  the  bed  a  bunch 
of  the  covering,  w^hich  he  took  for  the  child.  He  seized  it 
with  one  hand,  and  continued  to  swim  with  the  other,  return- 
iuf ,  as  it  were,  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  He  then  laid  down 
his  burden,  and  came  out  of  the  water  shivering,  and  his 
teeth  chattering  as  if  he  had  been  really  in  a  frozen  river. 
He  said  to  those  about  him,  that  he  was  freezing — that  he 
should  die  with  cold — that  his  blood  was  frozen.  He  asked 
for  a  glass  of  brandy  to  warm  him,  but  there  being  none  at 
hand,  they  gave  him  w^ater.  He  tasted  it,  perceived  the 
cheat,  and  demanded  more  sharply,  telling  them  the  danger 
he  was  exposed  to.  They  gave  him  some  cordial,  which  he 
drank  with  much  satisfaciion,  and  said  it  gave  him  great 
comfort.  He  did  not,  however,  aw^ake,  but  went  to  bed 
again  and  slept  more  tranquilly. 


SOMNIUM — TRANCE SOMNAMBULISM.  179 

The  BisViop  further  informs  us,  that  this  young  man  would 
arise  from  his  sleep,  go  to  his  room,  take  pen,  ink  and  paper, 
and  compose  good  sermons.  When  he  had  finished  a  pasje, 
he  would  read  it  aloud,  and  correct  it.  Once,  he  had  written  ce 
dcvin  enfant;  in  reading  over  the  passage,  he  substituted 
adorahh  for  devin  ;  but  observing  that  ce  could  not  stand  be- 
fore adorahle,  he  added  t.  The  archbishop  held  a  piece  of 
pasteboard  under  his  chin,  io  prevent  him  from  seeing  the  pu' 
per  on  which  he  was  writing,  but  he  wrote  on,  not  at  all  in- 
commoded.— The  paper  on  which  he  was  writing  was  then 
removed,  and  another  piece  substituted ;  but  he  instantly  per- 
ceived the  change.  He  wrote  pieces  of  music  in  this  state, 
with  his  eyes  closed.  The  words  were  under  the  music,  and 
once,  were  too  large,  and  not  placed  exactly  under  the  corres- 
ponding notes.  He  soon  perceived  the  error,  blotted  out  the 
part,  and  wrote  it  over  again  with  great  exactness. 

The  following  is  interesting,  as  it  is  the  account  which  a 
somnambulist  gives  of  himself,  and  his  own  feelings,  as  near 
as  he  cculd  recollect  while  in  that  state. 

"  From  the  age  of  ten  to  fifteen,  it  was  almost  a  nightly 
habit  with  me  to  get  up  from  ray  bed  and  travel  through  the 
whole  house,  unbarring  the  doors  and  walking  through  the 
different  apartments  with  the  greatest  ease  in  utter  darkness, 
sometimes  unlocking  the  back  door,  and  travelling  into  the 
yard  and  out-houses,  stopping  at  different  places,  and  examin- 
ing, apparently  with  the  nicest  precision,  such  articles  as 
happened  to  fall  in  m.y  way. 

"  Yet  after  being  awakened,  not  the  slightest  recollection 
remained  of  what  had  happened.  During  some  of  these  noc- 
turnal excursions,  I  opened  a  dormer  window,  and  crawled 
out  thence  to  the  very  apex  of  the  roof!  On  one  of  these  oc- 
casions, after  getting  on  the  top  of  the  house,  I  was  awaken- 
ed by  a  slight  shower  of  rain,  and  it  v^^as  with  difficulty  I 
made  a  safe  descent  by  way  of  the  next  neighbor's  house, 
which  obliged  me  to  rouse  the  family  in  order  to  get  back  to 
my  bed  a.^ain. 

"  The  most  singular  feat,  however,  that  I  performed  in  the 
somnambulic  state,  ^as  a  situation  that  I  got  into,  out  of 
which  I  could  not  extricate  myself  again  in  a  waking  state, 
neither  could  I,  upon  trial,  without  the  assistance  of  some- 
thing to  step  on  first,  get  into  it  again.  The  room  in  which  I 
slept  at  this  time,  had  in  it  an  old-fashioned  cradle  of  double 


180  PATIIETISM. 

length,  made  for  twin  babes.  This  was  placed  upon  a  long 
narrow  keg,  which  stood  on  its  ends,  so  that  when  sianding 
alongside  of  it,  the  sides  of  the  cradle  came  within  two  inches 
of  my  chin,  and  it  was  so  poised,  that  a  slight  preponderance 
either  way  would  capsize  it.  During  one  of  my  nocturnal 
perambulations  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  by  some  means  I 
got  into  this  cradle,  without  the  assistance  oi'  any  thing  that 
would  enable  me  to  step  up,  save  some  strange  inexplicable 
cause.  It  was  a  cold  winter  night,  and  I  became  awakened 
while  in  the  act  of  pulling  books  A'om  around  me,  which 
were  in  the  cradle  at  the  time.  After  being  perfectly  awa- 
kened, it  required  a  great  deal  of  caution  to  support  my  cen- 
tre of  gravity,  until  I  had  called  the  assistance  of  some  of  the 
family  to  enable  me  to  get  down. 

"In  the  somnambulic  state,  I  am  told  my  eyes  are  wide 
open,  and  have  a  glassy  appearance.  Although  I  would  an- 
swer questions,  and  talk  freely  on  subjects  that  were  indicat- 
ed by  my  conduct,  yet  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  waken  me 
by  any  other  process  than  the  application  of  cold  water.  Af- 
ter a  more  advanced  age,  these  symptoms  have  taken  a  dif- 
ferent form,  my  nightly  perambulations  being  confined  to  my 
chamber,  and  they  are  mere  particularly  connected  with  the 
organs  of  hearing  and  vision.  It  does  appear,  that,  like  the 
inner  vision  v/ithout  the  aid  of  the  external  eye,  there  is  also 
a  distinct  faculty  of  hearing,  independent  of  the  external  ear. 
This  has  been  experienced  by  persons  of  my  acquaintance.  I 
have  frequently  hastened  to  the  place  from  whence  sounds 
appeared  to  come.  Generally  it  appears  to  be  the  calling  of 
my  name,  by  persons  Vv'hose  voice  lean  recognise;  but  the 
most  frequent^ delusions  are  through  the  eye.  These  symp- 
toms frona  their  frequency,  although  not  fearful  in  themselves, 
have  been  of  late  a  source  of  annoyance,  and  they  always  oc- 
cur in  a  half-waking  condition.  The  clearer  and  smoother 
the  chamber  in  which  I  sleep,  the  less  am  I  annoyed  with 
these  delusions.  Of  these  symptoms  and  their  operations,  I 
have  a  tolerable  distinct  recollection  afterwards.  I  generally 
find  myself  sitting  up  in  bed,  in  the  act  of  getting  up  and  mo- 
ving towards  the  objects,  which  m.ostly  appear  to  be  human 
beings,  and  often  persons  of  my  acquaintance.  Although  this 
happens  to  me  in  a  half-waking  condition,  still,  I  possess  the 
faculty  of  reasoning  within  myself  upon  the  necessity  of  not 
minding  these  delusions,  but  seldom  become  perfectly  satisfied 
until  I  get  up  and  try  to  touch  the  object;  but  invariably  get 
awake  on  being  touched  by  another  person.  After  being  awa- 
kened, it  has  often  appeared  to  me  that  a  conflict  had  been 
going  on  between  the  material  and  spiritual  functions."* 

*  Letter  of  Mr  John  Wise,  Lancaster,  Penn. 


SOMNITJM — TRANCE — SOMNAMBULISM.  181 

The  term  trance  has  long  been  used  to  signify  a  state,  ia 
which  the  soul  seems  to  have  passed  out  of  the  body  into  the 
celestial  regions ;  and  I  have  seen  persons  who  were  subject 
to  ecstacies  which  were  thought  peculiar,  only,  to  those  who 
had  actually  left  the  body,  and  passed  into  heaven. 

I  have  often  produced  this  state  by  paihetism.  The  per- 
sons in  whom  it  is  brought  about,  describe  it  as  one  of  the 
most  delightful  imaginable.  But  frequently  they  manifest  an 
unwillingness  to  describe  it  at  all,  as  they  say  it  so  far  ex- 
ceeds all  our  ordinary  conceptions  of  what  is  elevated,  refined, 
beautiful,  and  heavenly.  It  seems  to  differ  from  the  ordinary 
states  of  somnium,  merely  in  the  degrees  of  abstraction  of  the 
mind  to  which  it  is  carried,  and  in  respect  to  the  locomotion 
of  the  patient.  In  what  is  called  trance,  the  patient  usually 
sits  or  is  perfectly  still,  and  the  mind  seems  to  be  employed 
upon  what  are  considered  immaterial  subjects.  Sometimes 
we  find  such  persons  remarkably  clairvoyant ;  they  describe 
with  accuracy  persons  and  places,  without  the  use  of  the  ex- 
ternal senses.  A  case  of  this  kind  has  just  come  under  my 
notice  in  this  city. 

A  young  lady  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  made  a  public 
profession  of  religion,  and  connected  herself  with  one  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  here.  For  the  last  ten  days 
(April  4,  1843,)  she  has  been  most  of  the  time  in  a  state  of 
trance,  as  her  religious  friends  call  it.  It  commenced  very 
soon  after  she  had  been  much  excited,  and  had  professed  to 
become  completely  sanctified.  She  was  observed  to  fall  into 
an  apparently  unconscious  state,  and  the  limbs  becoming  quite 
rigid,  precisely  like  the  cases  I  have  beiore  described  of  natu- 
ral somnambulists,  or  when  I  have  induced  the  state  by  path- 
etism. 

This  is,  undoubtedly,  a  case  of  somnambulism,  though  her 
friends  (some  of  them)  think  it  quite  miraculous.  She  has, 
occasionally,  a  correct  perception  of  the  characters  of  different 
persons  who  enter  her  room,  and  will  address  them  in  re- 
proofs, or  exhortations  to  prayer  and  praise,  according  to  their 
various  characters,  though  she  is  said  to  have  had  no  previ- 
ous knowledge  of  them  beforehand.    When  one  enters  her 


1S2  "PlTHETlaM-. 

room  who  is  pious,  or  is  believed  to  be  so  by  her,  she  clasps 
her  hands  into  the  form  of  what  she  calls  "a  crown,"  and 
places  them  upon  his  head ;  and  the  statements  she  makes 
about  the  characters,  views,  and  feelin^fs  of  those  who  have 
been  to  see  her,  are  considered  by  her  friends  as  the  miracu- 
lous interpositions  of  the  Divine  Being.  And  I  confess,  that 
there  is  every  way  as  much  of  the  miraculous  in  this  case,  as 
in  those  of  the  "  Tyrol  Virgins,"  noticed  below. 

One  of  her  friends,  a  clerical  lady,  seemed  to  view  it  as 
quite  profane,  when  I  informed  her  that  I  had  put  persons  into 
a  state  precisely  similar,  in  which  they  had  made  descriptions 
of  the  characters  of  strangers,  every  way  as  correct  and  re- 
markable as  in  the  present  case.  And  it  is  curious  enough, 
to  see  how  honestly  many  good  people  will  believe  in  a  case 
of  natural  clairvoyance,  when  they  are  horror-struck  at  being 
told  that  the  same  state  may  be  artificially  induced,  without 
any  thing  of  the  miraculous  in  it.* 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  trances  upon  record,  is  that  of 
the  well-known  William  Tennent,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
then  of  Brunswick,  N.  J.  There  are  persons  now  living  who 
knew  this  pious  man,  and  some  who  still  believe  he  actually 
died,  or  lefi  the  body,  and  went  to  heaven.  The  following  is 
his  own  account  of  it : 

"  While  I  was  conversing  with  my  brother  on  the  state  of 
my  soul,  and  the  fears  I  had  entertained  of  my  future  welfare, 
I  found  myself  in  an  instant  in  another  stale  of  existence,  un- 
der the  direction  of  a  superior  Being,  who  ordered  me  to  fol- 
low him.  I  was  accordingly  wafted  along  I  knov/  not  how, 
till  I  beheld  at  a  distance  an  ineffable  glory,  and  the  impres- 
sions of  which  on  my  mind  it  is  impossible  to  communicate 
to  mortal  man.  I  immediately  reflected  on  my  happy  change 
and  thought — Well,  blessed  be  God  !  I  am  safe  at  last,  not- 
withstanding all  my  fears.  I  saw  an  innumerable  host  of 
happy  beings  surrounding  the  inexpressible  glory,  in  acts  of 

*  I  have  been  often  reminded,  that  had  I  set  up  for  ''  a  prophet"  be- 
fore  I  restored  a  lady  to  her  voice  (v.ho  had  been  mute  for  Iv.o  years) 
last  summer,  or  before  I  had  perlormed  some  other  remarkable  cures, 
I  might  have  held  a  successful  compeiilion  with  Joe  Smith,  and  shared 
the  chances  with  him  ol  lining  my  pockets  v/ith  gold,  instead  of  v/ork- 
ing  for  nothing,  as  I  have  done,  and  being  reported  as  a  mere  juggler, 
or  something  worse. 


SOMNIUM — TRANCE — SOMNAMBULISM.  183 

adoration  and  joyous  worsliip ;  but  I  did  not  see  any  bodily 
shape  or  representation  in  the  glorious  appearance.  I  heard 
things  unutterable.  I  heard  their  songs  and  hallelujahs  of 
thanksgiving  and  praise,  with  unspeakable  rapture.  I  felt 
joy  unutterable  and  full  of  glor^^  I  then  applied  to  my  con- 
ductor, and  requested  leave  to  join  the  happy  throng;  on 
which  he  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder,  and  said  '  You  must 
return  to  earth.'  This  seemed  like  a  sword  through  my 
heart.  In  an  instant  I  recollect  to  have  seen  my  brother 
disputing  with  the  doctor.  The  three  days  during  which  I 
had  appeared  lifeless  seemed  to  be  not  more  than  ten  or 
twenty  minutes.  The  idea  of  returning  to  this  world  of  sor- 
row and  trouble  gave  me  such  a  shock,  that  I  fainted  repeat- 
edly." He  added  :  "  Such  was  the  eifect  on  my  mind  of 
what  I  had  seen  and  heard,  that  if  it  be  possible  for  a  humaa 
being,  to  live  entirely  above  the  world  and  the  things  of  it, 
for  sometime  afterwards  i  was  that  person.  The  ravishing 
sound  of  the  songs  and  hallelujahs  that  I  heard,  and  the  very 
words  that  were  uttered,  were  not  out  of  my  ears  for  at  least 
three  years.  All  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  were,  in  my 
sight,  as  nothing  and  vanity  ;  and  so  great  were  my  ideas  of 
heavenly  glory,  that  nothing  v/hich  did  not  in  some  measure, 
relate  to  it,  could  command  my  serious  attention." 

This  extraordinary  event  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  the 
worthy  successor  of  Mr.  Tennent  in  the  pastoral  charge  of 
his  church.  He  states  that  after  hearing  from  Mr.  Tennent's 
own  mouth  a  particular  narration  of  this  surprising  trance, 
he  said  to  him,  "  Sir,  you  seem  to  be  one  indeed  raised  from 
the  dead,  and  may  tell  us  what  it  is  to  die,  and  what  you 
were  sensible  of  while  in  that  state."  He  replied  in  the  fol- 
lowing w^ords  :  '  As  to  dying — I  found  my  fever  increase, 
and  I  bacame  weaker  and  weaker  and  weaker,  until  all  at 
once,  I  found  myself  in  heaven  as  I  thought.  I  saw  no  shape 
as  to  the  Deity,  but  glory  all  unutterable.'  Here  he  paused, 
as  though  unable  to  find  words  to  express  his  views,  and  lift- 
ing up  his  hands,  proceeded:  '  I  can  say  as  St.  Paul  did,  I 
heard  and  saw  things  unutterable.  I  saw  a  great  multitude 
before  this  glory,  apparently  in  the  height  of  bliss,  singing 
most  melodiously.  I  was  transported  with  my  own  situa- 
tion, viewing  all  my  troubles  ended,  and  my  rest  and  glory 
begun,  and  was  about  to  join  the  happy  multitude,  when  one 
came  to  me,  locked  me  full  in  the  face,  laid  his  hands  upon 
my  shoulder,  and  said,  *  You  must  go  back.'  These  words 
ran  through  me;  nothing  could  have  shocked  me  more  ;  I 
cried  out,  '  Lord,  m.ust  I  go  back  ?'  With  this  shock  I  open- 
ed my  eyes  in  this  world.  When  I  saw  I  was  in  this  world 
I  fainted,  then  came  to,  and  fainted  for  several  times,  as  one 
naturally  would  have  done  in  so  weak  a  situation.' 


184?  PATHETISM. 

I  am  not  able  to  state  whetlier  any  cases  of  spontaneous 
trance,  or  ecstasy,  are  on  record  of  persons  not  religious;  but 
certain  it  is,  that  for  ages  past,  persons  in  the  different  religi- 
ous denominations  have  been  known  to  fall  into  this  state. — 
The  Papists  have,  from  the  beginning  of  their  history,  mani- 
fested great  enthusiasm  in  detailing  accounts  of  vi'hat  they 
call  "miraculous"  ecstasy;  and  they  have  recently  circulated 
immense  editions  of  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "The  Virgins  of  the 
Tyrol,"  throughout  this  country  and  in  Europe,  which  pur- 
ports to  give  an  accouni  of  two  Austrian  girls,  who  have  been 
in  this  state  for  some  eight  years  past !  The  author  of  this 
pamphlet  is  said  to  be  the  "  Earl  of  Shrewsbury;"  but  he 
does  not  seem  to  be  shrewd  enough,  v/hoever  he  may  be,  to 
see,  that  he  has  been  most  egregiously  deceived  in  supposing 
that  no  such  results  as  he  describes  could  be  traced  to  the 
laws  which  induce  a  spontaneous  state  of  somnambulism.  He 
thinks,  because  these  girls  were  not  "  Mesmerised"  by  any 
one,  that  their  state  must  be  miraculous.  But  that  these  vir- 
gins are  of  the  sympathetic  temperament,  like  the  cases  al- 
ready detailed  in  this  chapter,  is  fully  proved  by  the  account 
he  himself  has  given  of  them.  As  these  cases  are  deemed  of 
so  much  importance  at  the  present  time,  no  apology  will  be 
necessary  for  attempting,  here,  to  show  their  identity,  so  far 
as  there  may  be  any  thing  real  in  them,  with  the  common  ca- 
ses of  somnambulism.     As,  for  instance: 

1.  Their  health  and  temperament.  It  is  well  known,  that 
disease  predisposes  persons  of  a  certain  temperament  to  this 
state.  And  it  is  said  of  these  girls,  Maria,  "  in  her  early  years, 
had  various  attacks  of  illness ;"  and,  it  seems,  from  1832  she 
has  been,  most  of  the  time,  confined  to  her  bed  with  indispo- 
sition. Her  temperament  is  manifest,  from  expressions  made 
of  her  like  these:  "Her  hazel  eye,"  and  "her  look  is  so 
open,"  &c.  Similar  expressions,  also,  occur  of  the  other,  Do- 
menica,  who,  it  is  said,  enjoyed  good  health  till  1828,  since 
which  time  she  has  been  indisposed,  and  for  more  than  eight 
years  confined  to  her  bed.  Here,  then,  is  the  foundation  for 
all  the  wonders  of  their  trances. 

2.  The  manner  in  which  these  states  of  trance  were  com- 
menced.    For  instance,  of  Maria  it  is  said, — 


SOMNIUM — TRANCE — S03INAMBULISI\I.  185 

**  When,  in  1S32,  she  had  attained  her  twentieth  year,  she 
evinced  the  first  symptoms  of  ecstacy,  falling  into  that  state 
each  time  she  received  the  holy  comynunion." 

And  of  Domenica  it  is  also  said, — 

"  In  the  year  1833,  she  was  first  observed  to  fail  into  ecsta- 
cy after  receiving  the  holy  communion^  but  without  rising 
from  her  bed." 

I  have  seen  scores  of  persons,  after  kneeling  in  prayer,  and 
others,  when  kneeling  at  the  altar  in  Methodist  churches  for 
receiving  the  sacrament,  fall  into  this  state,  and  become  ap- 
parently unconscious,  precisely  like  what  is  said  of  these  two 
nuns. 

3.  Perceptions,  without  the  iise  of  the  organs  of  sight  or 
hearing.  Instances  are  given,  where  it  is  said  these  nuns  had 
perceptions  of  the  approach  of  the  mass;  and  one  of  them,  it 
is  said,  as  it  was  carried  through  the  tovv^n,  "  turned  to  it,  as 
the  needle  turns  to  the  pole."  And  this,  the  pious  Catholic  is 
taught  to  believe,  is  miraculous,  and  demonstrative  of  the 
truth  of  Popery  !  Now,  admitting  the  account  to  be  true,  it 
proves  nothing  for  or  against  religion.  Examine  the  preced- 
ing- cases  described  in  this  chapter,  and  you  will  find  enough 
of  the  same  power  of  perception  detailed,  and  which  came  on, 
spontaneously,  like  these  now  so  much  wondered  at  by  Pa- 
pists, far  and  near. 

4.  State  of  unconsciousness.  The  authors  of  this  book 
think  it  quite  miraculous,  that  these  "virgins,"  during  their 
ecstacy,  should  have  their  "  eyes  wide  open,"  without  seeing, 
so  that  when  "  a  candle  is  held  near  the  eye,"  or  when  a  fly 
lights  upon  the  eye-ball,  they  do  not  wink  at  all ! — a  pheno- 
menon that  every  pathetiser  has  witnessed  since  the  days  of 
Mesmer,  and  one  which  I  will  produce  for  his  Holiness  any 
time,  w^henever  he  will  do  me  the  honor  of  a  call.  Persons  in 
a  state  of  somnipathy  become  wholly  insensible  to  pain;  and 
we  have  already  seen  cases,  where  the  most  difficult  surgical 
operations  have  been  performed,  without  the  patient's  know- 
ing anything  about  it  at  the  time. 

5.  Surprising  positions  of  the^  body.    It  is  mentioned  as 


1S6  TATIIETISM. 

another  miraculous  effort  of  the  Divhie  power,  in  the  case  of 
these  virgins,  that  iheir  bodies  frequently  assume  very  singu- 
lar positions;  as,  for  instance,  one  says  she 

"  Had  seen  Maria  raised  up  in  the  air  so  far,  at  least,  as 
only  to  touch  the  bed  with  the  very  extremities  of  the  feet." 

The  same  thing  is  done  by  natural  somnambulists ;  and  I 
have  made  some  of  my  patients,  while  in  a  state  of  somnipa- 
thy,  assume  and  maintain  the  body  in  a  position,  which  could 
not  be  borne  in  the  waking  state.  In  a  preceding  page  is  a 
letter  from  a  natural  sieep-waker,  who  describes  feats  done 
by  himself  in  this  state,  which  he  was  utterly  unable  to  do 
when  wide  awake. 

6.  Effects  of  contact  ivitJi  others.  Every  pathetist  must 
have  noticed  the  curious  effects  produced  by  merely  touching 
persons  of  this  peculiar  sensibility,  w^hethcr  they  be  touched 
by  the  operator  or  any  other  person.  By  a  mere  touch  I  have, 
times  without  number,  given  to  the  body  of  the  patient,  when 
awake,  any  desirable  tendency  or  motion,  or  even  deprived  it 
of  the  power  of  locomotion  entirely.  So  it  is  said  of  these 
virgins : — 

"  The  chaplain  desired  me  to  touch  her  hand,  when  the 
slightest  pressure  of  my  finger  upon  hers,  made  her  own  fall 
several  inches,  and  put  her  mto  a  swinging  motion  from  side 
to  side.  This  movement  was  considerably  increased  by  the 
same  person  blovvring  at  her  gently  with  his  breath,  so  exceed- 
ingly serial  and  unsubstantial  is  her  frame." 

The  above  is  a  specimen  of  the  manner  of  experimenting, 
practised  by  the  Papist  priests  on  the  "virgins  of  the  Tyrol." 

Again:  we  know  how  instinctively  some  somnipathists 
shrink  from  the  touch  of  persons.     Just  so  these  virgins  r 

"  During  this  period,  her  right  arm  hung  down  partly  be- 
yond the  bed;  I  touched  her  hand,  when  it  shrunk  from  the 
touch  like  the  leaf  of  a  sensitive  plant,  and  then,  like  it,  re- 
mained in  the  new  position  which  it  had  assumed." 

7.  Manner  of  inducing  and  removing  the  ecstacy.  I  have 
had  numerous  patients,  who  would  fall  instantly  into  this 
state  by  merely  touching  them,  and  some  who  would  sink 


SOMNIUM — TRANCE — S0MNAMBULIS3I.  187 

into  ii  by  merely  looking  at  them;  and  others,  who  fell  into  it 
when  seated  in  the  same  chair  where  they  had  frequently 
been  put  to  sleep  before.  Precisely  so  these  "  Virgins  of  the 
Tyrol"  : 

•'AVhen  her  confessor  [in  another  place  the  priests  are 
called  "Me  keepers  of  her  conscience, ^''^  sees  occasion  to  re- 
quire it,  she  falls  at  his  hiddins;  into  this  state." 

And  thus  she  is  brought  out  of  it ; 

"  Yet,  with  all  this,  it  requires  no  effort,  no  noise,  nor 
hardly  any  ostensible  agency,  to  break  the  spell ;  a  gentle 
touch  or  whisper  from  her  confessor,  or  any  ecclesiastic  with 
whom  she  is  acquainted,  is  sufficient  to  dissolve  the  charm, 
completely  and  at  once." 

I  might  trace  the  identity  between  these  cases  and  the  or= 
dinary  cases  of  somnambulism  still  further,  were  it  necessarj'. 
But  the  above  is  sufficient  to  put  this  fact  beyond  all  doubt  in 
every  candid,  unprejudiced  mind.  But  the  devoted  Papist 
will  remind  me,  that  I  have  not  noticed  two  of  the  most  re- 
markable miracles  described  in  these  cases ;  and  he  will  ask 
how  I  account  for  the  "  Stigmata"  ?  For  instance,  there  are 
plates  giving  the  appearance  of  these  virgins,  and  one  of  them 
is  represented  as  bleeding  in  the  forehead  and  temples,  the 
outside  and  inside  of  the  hands,  and  in  the  insteps  of  the  feet, 
and  also  in  the  side,  in  resemblance  of  the  places  in  the  body 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  where  he  was  wounded  when  cruci- 
fied I  And  v/e  are  told,  that  the  blocd  is  seen  to  coze  from 
these  wounds  every  Friday,  and  while  the  patient  lies  upon 
her  back  the  blocd  from  the  insteps  actually  runs  upwards  to- 
wards  her  toes,  instead  of  following  the  laws  of  gravitation 
downward.  Nor  is  this  the  most  of  this  story,  for  it  is  added, 
that  one  of  these  virgins  '*  has  neither  eat,  nor  drank,  nor 
slept,  for  more  than  eight  years .'//"  And  (o  prove  this  ac- 
count true,  the  book  refers  to  another  case,  where  a  Papist  is 
said  to  have  lived  "/or  twenty  years  in  perfect  health  and 
strength,''^  without  tasting  food  at  all !!! 

All  I  have  to  say  to  these  representations  is,  to  affirm  their 
falsehood.    And  lies  so  monstrous,  puts  the  shade  of  doubt  on 


188  PATHETISM. 

ihc  Other  details  in  this  book,  though  one  could  otherwise 
readily  admit  the  truth  of  many  of  them,  and  this,  too,  with- 
out supposing  there  was  anything  of  the  miraculous  in  them. 

The  blood  may  have  been  produced  by  themselves,  or 
friends,  by  punctures  or  otherwise ;  or  those  appearances  may 
have  been  induced  by  the  laws  of  sympathy  described  in  a 
preceding  chapter — the  same  that  produced  the  words,  "  Na- 
poleon Empercur,"  in  the  eyes  of  a  foetus  some  years  ago.  A 
state  of  intense  mental  effort,  long  continued,  has  been  known 
to  cause  the  hair  to  change  from  black  to  gray  or  white,  in  a 
few  hours,  and  to  produce  other  physical  changes,  remarkable 
enough  to  be  supposed  "  miraculous"  by  those  who  know  no 
better.* 

The  case  of  a  lady  in  Vincennes,  Indiana,  has  been  described 
to  me  by  a  scientific  gentleman  of  this  city,  presenting  pheno- 
mena every  way  asm  iraculous  as  the  foregoing.  After  some 
irregularities  which  had  been  noticed  in  her  system,  she  had 
frequent  discharges  of  hard  substances,  of  the  consistency  of 
bone,  from  directly  below  the  left  eye.  These  discharges  left 
no  fissures  in  the  skin,  and  the  bones,  as  they  seemed  to  be, 
exuded  in  a  liquid  form,  and  in  a  moment  would  fall  hard 
upon  the  floor. 

The  case  of  another  lady  in  Salem,  Mass.  may  be  referred 
to,  as  exceeding  the  Tyrol  Virgins  in  the  miraculous.  For 
eleven  years  she  has  not  been  noticed  to  sleep  at  all;  and  the 
various  positions  into  which  she  is  thrown  by  convulsions,  are 
said  to  be  almost  incredible.  Sometimes  she  is  elevated  from 
her  bed,  in  an  instant,  perpendicularly ;  and  at  other  times 
pinned  to  the  wall,  or  made  to  spin  like  a  top,  without  the 
least  efibrt. 

*  Many  of  the  Papists,  who  affect  to  deny  that  the  above  cases  have 
any  resemblance  to  somnambulism,  cannot  certainly  be  ignorant  of  ilie 
fact,  that  one  of  their  priests,  named  F.  Girard,  was  tried  in  France,  in 
1733,  for  the  liberties  he  took  with  a  female,  whom  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  throwing  into  a  state  of  trance.  That  female  declared,  that  Girard 
had  bewitched  her ;  and  many  of  her  feats,  after  being  thrown  into 
trance  by  Girard,  were  as  remarkable  as  anything  done  by  the  Tyrol 
Virgins.  Nor  was  this  all.  This  female  had  the  true  ^' stigmata^'  in 
her  hands,  side,  feet,  and  forehead,  and  which,  it  is  said,  the  Catholic 
priest  manifested  his  adoration  for,  by  apjdying  his  lips  to  the  places 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  quite  too  oftea  for  his  own  credit. 


SOMNIUM — TKANCE — SOMNAMBULISM.  189 

My  patients  possess  the  pov/er  of  throwing  themselves  into 
these  singular  conditions.  A  gentleman,  well  known  in  Phi- 
ladelphia, is  remarkable  for  this  susceptibility,  as  in  a  few 
minutes  he  can  voluntarily  sink  into  a  state  of  unconscious- 
ness, precisely  like  those  already  described.  I  had  the  fol- 
lowing account  from  Dr.  Cleaveland,  of  Providence,  Pt.  I.  : — 

A  young  lady  of  that  city  who  had  been  pathetised,  was 
frequently  known  to  throw  herself  into  this  condition,  and 
especially  when  anything  oifended  her.  At  one  time,  she  de- 
sired the  loan  of  a  book  of  a  near  neighbor,  but  which  she 
could  not  obtain  at  the  time  she  wanted  it.  Feeling  some- 
what piqued,  she  retired  to  her  room,  and  throwing  herself 
upon  her  bed,  sunk  to  sleep.  Soon  after  her  friends  heard  her 
voice,  and  on  approaching  her  found  that  she  was  repeating 
something,  as  if  reading.  Suspecting  what  was  going  on,  one 
of  the  persons  present  was  despatched  to  the  house  where 
that  book  was,  from  which  she  was  supposed  to  be  reading. 
The  somnist  soon  after  stopped  her  reading,  and  commenced 
weeping,  in  a  fit  of  anger  declaring  that  some  one  had  taken 
the  book  away.  The  person,  on  entering,  declared  that  she 
found  the  book  lying  on  the  table,  and  had  taken  and  removed 
it  into  another  room.  The  Bramins  in  India  are  said  to  pos- 
sess this  power;  and  the  case  of  one  is  detailed,*  who  was 
inclosed  in  a  wooden  box  for  thirteen  days  without  food  or 
drink,  and  who  was  actually  buried  four  weeks,  and  remained 
without  food,  and  almost  without  air,  in  a  state  of  apparent 
death.  He  was  taken  out  of  his  grave  perfectly  senseless,  his 
eyes  closed,  his  hands  cramped  and  powerless,  his  stomach 
slirunk  very  much,  and  his  teeth  so  completely  jammed  toge- 
ther, that  his  mouth  had  to  be  opened  with  an  iron  instrument 
before  they  could  pour  a  little  water  down  his  throat. 

A  history  of  almost  any  ordinary  case  of  somnipathy  would 
be  the  mere  repetition  of  the  foregoing  facts,  and  of  hundreds 
of  others  of  a  similar  character,  the  accounts  of  which  have 
been  published  from  age  to  age,  and  never  doubted  by  any 

*  India  Jour.  Med.  and  Phys.  Science. 


190  PATHETISM. 

one  pretending  to  any  knowledge  of  psychologj'.     But  these 
{{iw  cases  are  given  here,  to  prove  the  following  facts  : — 

1.  That  persons  of  a  peculiar  temperament  are  susceptible 
to  the  influence  of  certain  agencies,  which  bring  on,  at  times, 
a  state  resembling  sleep,  in  which  the  external  senses  are 
closed. 

2.  That  while  in  this  state,  these  persons  perform  actions 
^vhich  they  could  not  do  in  the  normal  state. 

3.  That  on  suspension  of  the  external  senses,  there  is  deve- 
loped in  them  zni?idependcnt  sense — a  sense  which  sometimes 
takes  accurate  knowledge  of  things  present  and  absent. 

4.  And  yet,  at  the  same  time,  this  sense  may  be  deceived, 
so  that  the  person  may  fancy  he  sees  or  tastes,  or  even  does 
things,  which  have  no  existence  except  in  his  own  apprehen- 
sion. 


CHAPTER     XII. 

SECOND    SIGHT,    TRANSPOSITION   OF   THE  SENSES,  DOITBLE    CONSCI- 
OUSNESS,   FPvESENTDIENTS,  PEOPHETIC   DREAMS,   WITCHCRAFT. 

It  will  answer  my  purpose  to  give  a  specimen  of  each  of 
these  states;  and  when  examined  in  connection  with  the  laws 
of  sympathy  already  deSned,  it  is  presumed  the  reader  will 
be  at  no  loss  in  tracing  them  to  those  causes,  which,  it  must 
be  acknowledged,  are  more  or  less  concerned  in  their  produc- 
tion. 

1.  Second  Sight. 

Many  accounts  of  apparitions,  visions,  &c.  which  have  been 
published,  are  either  so  palpably  false,  or  so  mixed  up  with 
superstitious  fabrications,  that  they  are  not  worth  a  moment's 
notice.  The  following  details  are,  no  doubt,  correctly  given, 
and  may  be  depended  upon  as  a  faithful  account  of  what  ac- 
tually took  place.  It  was  drawn  up  by  M.  Nicoli,  of  himself, 
and  shows  but  too  plainly,  how  it  was  that  his  susceptibility 
was  wrought  upon  sufficiently  to  enable  him  to  have  the  per- 
ceptions he  describes: 

During  the  latter  ten  months  of  the  year  1790,  I  had  expe- 
rienced several  melancholy  events,  which  affected  me  par- 
ticularly in  September,  from  which  time  I  suffered  an  almost 
uninterrupted  series  of  misfortunes,  which  afflicted  me  with 
the  most  poignant  grief.  I  was  accustomed  to  be  bled  twice 
a  year;  this  was  done  on  the  9th  of  July,  but  was  omitted 
to  be  repeated  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Less  blood  had  conse- 
quently been  evacuated  in  1790,  than  was  usual  with  me; 
and  from  September  I  was  constantly  occupied  in  business 
which  required  the  most  unremitted  exertion,  and  v/hich  was 
rendered  still  niore  perplexing  by  frequent  interruptions. 

In  January  and  February  of  the  year  1791,  I  had  the  addi- 


192  TATHETISM. 

tional  misfortune  to  experience  several  unpleasant  circum- 
stances, v/hich  were  follov/ed,  on  the  24  th  February,  by  a  most 
violent  altercation.  My  v/ife  and  another  person  came  into  my 
apartment,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  order  to  console 
me,  but  I  was  too  much  agitated  by  a  series  of  incidents 
which  had  most  powerfully  affected  my  moral  feelings,  to  be 
capable  of  attending  to  them.  On  a  sudden  I  perceived  at  a 
distance  of  about  ten  paces,  a  form  like  that  of  a  deceased 
person.  I  pointed  at  it,  asking  my  wife  whether  she  did  not 
see  it?  It  v/as  but  natural  that  she  should  not  see  anything; 
my  question  therefore  alarmed  her  much,  and  she  sent  directly 
for  a  physician.  The  phantasm  continued  about  eight  min- 
utes. I  grew  at  length  more  calm,  and  being  extremely  ex- 
hausted, fell  into  a  restless  slumber  which  lasted  about  half 
an  hour.  The  physician  ascribed  the  apparition  to  violent 
mental  excitement,  and  hoped  there  would  be  no  return ;  but 
the  violent  agitation  of  my  mind  had  in  some  way,  disordered 
my  nerves,  and  produced  further  consequences,  which  de- 
serve a  more  minute  description. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  form  which  I  had  seen 
in  the  morning,  re-appeared.  I  was  by  myself  when  this 
happened,  and  being  rather  uneasv  at  the  incident,  went  to 
my  v/ife's  apartment;  but  there  likev/ise  I  was  followed  by 
the  apparition,  v/hich  however  disappeared  at  intervals,  and 
always  presented  itself  in  a  standing  posture.  About  6  o'clock 
there  appeared  also  walking  figures,  which  had  no  connection 
with  the  first. 

I  cannot  assign  any  other  cause  for  all  this,  than  a  contin- 
ued rumination  on  the  vexations  I  had  endured,  which, 
though  calmer,  I  could  not  forget,  and  the  consequences  of 
which  I  meditated  to  counteract.  These  agitations  occupied 
my  mind  three  hours  after  dinner,  just  when  digestion  com- 
menced. I  consoled  myself  at  length  with  respect  to  the  dis- 
agreeable incident  which  had  occasioned  the  first  apparition  ; 
but  the  phantasms  continued  to  increase  and  change  in  the 
most  singular  manner,  though  I  had  taken  the  proper  medi- 
cines, and  found  myself  perfectly  well. 

When  the  first  terror  was  over,  as  I  beheld  these  phan- 
tasms without  great  emotion,  Avhilst  taking  them  for  what 
they  really  were — the  remarkable  consequences  of  an  indis- 
position, I  endeavored  to  collect  myself  as  much  as  possible, 
that  I  might  preserve  a  clear  consciousness  of  the  changes 
that  should  inwardly  take  place  in  me.  I  observed  these 
phantasms  very  closely,  and  frequently  reflected  on  my  ante- 
cedent thoughts,  to  discover,  if  possible,  by  means  of  what  as- 
sociation exactly  these  forms  presented  themselves  to  my  im- 
agination.     I  thought  at  times  I  had  found  a  clue;  but  tak- 


SECOND    SIGHT.  193 

ing  the  whole  together,  I  could  not  make  out  any  natural 
connection  between  the  state  of  my  mind,  my  occupations, 
train  of  thoughts,  and  the  multifarious  forms  which  now  ap- 
peared to  me,  and  then  again  disappeared.  After  repeated 
and  close  observations,  and  a  calm  examination,  I  was  unable 
to  form  any  conclusion  relative  to  the  origin  and  duration  of 
the  different  phantasms  Avhich  presented  themselves  to  mc. 
All  that  I  could  infer  was,  that  while  my  nervous  system 
was  in  such  an  irregular  state,  such  phantasms  would  appear 
to  me  as  if  I  actually  saw  and  heard  them,  that  these  illusions 
were  not  modified  by  any  known  laws  of  reason,  imagination, 
or  the  common  association  of  ideas, — and  that  probably  other 
people,  who  may  have  had  similar  apparitions,  were  exactly 
in  the  same  predicament.  The  origin  of  the  individual  forms 
which  appeared  to  me,  was  undoubtedly  founded  on  the  state 
of  my  mind;  but  the  manner  in  which  it  was  thus  affected, 
will  probably  remain  as  inscrutible  as  the  origin  of  thought 
and  reflection. 

After  the  first  day,  the  form  of  the  deceased  person  no 
longer  appeared,  but  in  its  place  many  other  phantasms,  some- 
times representing  acquaintances,  but  mostly  strangers. 
Those  whom  I  knew,  consisted  of  both  living  and  deceased 
persons,  but  the  number  of  the  latter  was  comparatively 
smalL  I  observed,  that  persons  with  whom  I  daily  convers- 
ed did  not  appear  as  phantasms,  these  representing  chiefly 
persons  who  lived  at  some  distance  from  me.  I  attempted 
to  produce  at  pleasure  phantasms  of  persons  whom  I  knew, 
by  attentively  reflecting  on  their  countenance,  shape,  kc; 
but  distinctly  as  I  recalled  to  my  lively  imagination  the  res- 
pective shapes  of  these  persons,  I  still  laboured  in  vain  to 
make  them  appear  to  me  as  phantasms,  though  I  had  before 
involuntarily  seen  them  in  that  manner,  and  perceived  them 
some  time  after,  when  I  least  thought  of  them.  These 
phantasms  appeared  to  me  contrary  to  my  inclination,  as  if 
they  were  presented  to  me  from  without  like  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  though  they  existed  no  where  but  v/ithin  my  mind. 
I  could  at  the  same  time,  plainly  distinguish  between  phan- 
tasms and  real  objects  ;  and  the  calmness  with  which  I  ex- 
amined them,  enabled  me  to  avoid  committing  the  smallest 
mistake.  I  knew  it  exactly  when  it  only  appeared  to  me 
that  the  door  was  opening  and  a  phantasm  entering  the  room, 
and  when  it  actually  opened,  and  a  real  person  entered. 

These  phantasms  appeared  to  me  equally  clear  and  dis- 
tinct at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances — both  when  I 
was  alone  and  when  I  was  in  company,  as  well  in  the  day 
as  at  night,  and  in  my  own  house  as  well  as  abroad.  They 
were,  however,  less  frequent  wlien  I  was  in  the  house  of  a 


194  PATHETISM. 

friend,  and  rarely  appeared  to  me  in  the  street.  When  I 
shut  my  eyes,  these  phantasms  would  sometimes  disappear 
entirely,  though  there  were  instances  when  I  beheld  them 
with  my  eyes  closed ;  yet  when  they  disappeared  on  such 
occasions,  they  generally  re-appeared  when  I  again  opened 
my  eyes.  I  conversed  occasionally  with  the  physician  and 
my  wife,  respecting  the  phantasms  which  surrounded  me  at 
the  moment.  I'hey  appeared  more  frequently  walking  than 
at  rest,  nor  were  they  constantly  present.  They  frequently 
did  not  appear  for  some  time ;  but  alv/ays  rc-appcared  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period,  cither  singly  or  in  company,  the  lat- 
ter, however,  was  most  often  the  case. 

I  generally  sav/  human  forms  of  both  sexes;  but  they  usu- 
ally seemed  not  to  take  the  smallest  notice  of  each  other, 
moving  as  in  a  market  place,  where  all  are  eager  to  press 
through  a  crowd.  At  times,  however,  they  seemed  to  be 
transacting  business  with  each  other.  I  also  repeatedly  saw 
people  on  horseback,  dogs,  and  birds.  All  these  ph?aitasms 
appeared  to  me  in  their  natural  size,  and  as  distinct  as  if 
alive,  exhibiting  different  shades  of  carnation  m  the  uncover- 
ed parts,  as  well  as  different  colours  and  fashions  of  their 
dress,  though  the  colours  seemed  to  me  paler  than  in  real  na- 
ture. None  of  the  figures  appeared  particularly  terrible, 
comical,  cr  disgusting ;  most  of  them  being  of  an  indifferent 
shape,  and  some  haying  a  pleasing  appearance.  The  longer 
these  phantasms  continued  to  appear,  the  more  frequently 
did  they  return,  w^hilst  at  the  same  time  they  increased  in 
number. 

About  four  weeks  after  their  first  appearance,  I  began  also 
to  hear  them  speak.  They  sometimes  conversed  among 
themselves,  but  more  frequently  they  directed  their  discourse 
to  me.  Their  speeches  were  commonly  short,  and  never  of 
an  unpleasant  tenor.  Several  times  I  saw  beloved  and  sensi- 
ble friends  of  both  sexes,  whose  addresses  tended  to  appease 
my  grief,  which  had  not  wholly  subsided.  These  consolatory 
speeches  were  in  general  addressed  to  me  when  I  was  alone; 
sometimes,  however,  I  was  accosted  by  these  consoling 
friends  whilst  in  company,  even  while  real  persons  were 
speaking  to  me.  These  consolatory  addresses  consisted  some- 
times of  abrupt  phrases,  and  at  others  they  were  regularly 
connected. 

Though  both  my  mind  and  body  were  in  a  tolerable  state 
of  sanity  at  this  time,  and  these  phantasms  became  so  famil- 
iar to  me,  that  they  they  did  not  cause  me  the  slightest  un- 
easiness— I  even  sometimes  amused  myself  with  surveying 
them,  and  spoke  jocularly  of  them  to  the  physician  and  my 


TRANSPOSITION    OF    THE    SENSES.  195 

wife, — yet  I  did  not  neglect  to  use  the  proper  medicines,  es- 
pecially when  they  began  to  haunt  me  the  whole  day,  and 
even  at  night  as  soon  as  I  awoke. 

At  last  it  was  agreed  that  leeches  should  again  be  applied 
to  me,  as  formerly,  which  was  accordingly  done  on  the  20th 
April,  1791,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  No  one 
was  with  me  besides  the  surgeon,  but  during  the  operation, 
my  chamber  was  crowded  wiih  human  phantasms  of  all  des- 
criptions. This  continued  without  interruption,  till  about 
half-past  four,  just  when  my  digestion  commenced.  I  then 
perceived,  that  they  began  to  move  more  slowly ;  soon  after, 
their  colours  began  to  fade ;  and  at  seven  o'clock  they  were 
entirely  white,  and  moved  very  little,  though  the  forms  were 
as  distinct  as  before ;  growing,  however,  by  degrees  more  ob- 
scure, yet  not  fewer  in  number,  as  had  generally  been  the 
ease.  The  phantasms  did  not  withdraw,  nor  did  they  vanish, 
which  previous  to  that  time  had  frequently  occurred.  They 
now  seemed  to  dissolve  in  the  air,  whilst  fragments  of  them 
continued  visible  a  considerable  time.  About  eight  o'clock 
the  room  was  entirely  cleared  of  my  fantastic  visitors. 

Since  that  period,  I  have  felt  twice  or  three  times  a  sensa- 
tion as  if  these  phantasms  were  going  to  re-appear,  without 
however  actually  seeing  any  thing.  The  same  sensation  sur- 
prised me  just  before  I  drew  up  this  account,  whilst  I  v/as 
examining  some  papers  relative  to  these  apparitions,  which  I 
had  drawn  up  in  the  year  1791.* 

Can  it  be  a  matter  of  doubt,  as  to  the  true  cause  of  these 
visions  ?  And  if  these  sights  arise  from  the  derangement  of 
the  cerebral  functions,  is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that 
others  have  arisen  from  the  same  cause"?  By  placing  my  fin- 
gers on  particular  portions  of  the  head,  I  have  often  caused 
my  subjects  to  have  similar  visions,  and  which,  to  themselves, 
appeared  as  real  as  any  thing  they  ever  saw  in  the  normal 
stale, 

2.  Transposition  of  the  Senses, 
The  following  extraordinary  case  of  catalepsy  occurred  at 
Bologna,  (Italy,)  in  1841,  I  believe,  and  was  witnessed  by 
Drs.  Viscarti,  Casina,  and  Mazzacorati,  who  published  the  fol- 
lowins:  account  of  it.  Here  we  have  "  vision  without  the 
eye,"  and  that  transposition  of  the  senses  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  pages  of  this  work. 

*  Theory  of  Pneumatology,  p.  402. 


196  PATIIETISM. 

A  young  woman,  aged  twenty-five  years,  on  the  10th  of 
September  last,  fell  into  a  complete  stale  of  catalepsy,  which 
reciirreJ  regularly  for  forty-two  days  consecutively. 

Daring  the  first  thirty  days,  the  lit  began  at  noon  and  ended 
at  midnight;  but  afterwards,  it  was  of  less  duration.  The 
patient,  so  long  as  the  paroxysm  lasted,  presented  the  ordinary 
appearances  of  catalepsy;  that  is,  an  aptness  to  assume  and 
retain  all  manner  of  inconvenient  and  unnatural  postures,  and 
a  general  insensibility  to  the  most  forcible  physical  impres- 
sions. #  *  # 

We  have  said  that  her  body  was  not  capable  of  feeling  the 
most  forcible  impressions,  nor  such  as  were  most  calculated 
to  produce  pain;  but  this  was  not  the  case  with  all  parts  of 
her  body.  A  most  exquisite  sensibility  remained  about  the 
epigastric  region,  in  the  palms  of  her  hands,  and  the  soles  of 
her  feet.  These  parts  became  supplementary  organs  of  the 
senses,  and  through  them  she  could  receive  external  impres- 
sions, not  spontaneously,  but  only  when  her  attention  was 
roused  by  the  experimenters.  At  first,  it  was  necessary  to 
speak  immediately  against  the  parts  that  retained  their  sensi- 
bility; afterwards,  it  was  sufficient  if  the  speaker  merely 
touched  any  one  of  those  parts;  and  still  later,  it  was'enough 
if  he  were  in  communication,  though  at  some  distance,  with 
the  person  ^vho  was  in  actual  contact  with  those  parts.  She 
never  spoke  unless  spoken  to.  When  questioned  in  the  man- 
ner described,  she  answered  in  the  same  tone  of  voice  that 
was  used  by  the  one  who  spoke  to  her;  either  high  or  low,  or 
very  high.  Her  power  of  hearing  through  those  parts,  was 
very  extraordinary.  If  a  person,  touching  her  stomach  with 
one  hand,  grasped  with  his  other  the  hand  of  a  second  person 
standing  further  off,  and  the  third  and  fourth  formed  in  this 
manner  a  chain,  hand  in  hand,  and  the  fourth  questioned  her 
in  the  lowest  possible  tones,  she  would  understand  perfectly, 
and  reply  in  the  same  tone.  The  reply  continued,  always,  so 
long  as  the  contact  was  maintained  with  the  parts  possessing 
sensibility,  and  ceased  when  that  contact  was  interrupted ; 
but  she  would  resume  the  discourse  when  the  contact  was  re- 
stored, at  the  point  to  which  it  would  have  reached  if  there 
had  been  no  interruption.  It  seemed,  therefore,  that  the  reply 
was  continued  internally ;  and,  indeed,  when  she  was  asked 
in  such  a  case,  why  she  had  not  spoken  all  the  words,  she  al- 
ways insisted  that  she  had  pronounced  them  all  equally.    *  * 

Her  eyes,  as  we  have  said,  were  closed  the  first  twenty-one 
days;  but  to  be  the  more  assured  of  their  inactivity,  the  expe- 
rimenters bound  them  with  a  handkerchief  well  folded,  and 
yet  she  recognised  immediately  the  color  of  different  bodies 
that  were  presented  to  the  parts  having  sensibility.   She  could 


TRANSPOSITION   OF   THE    SENSES.  197 

sometimes  read  ia  this  way,  and  could  always  tell  the  hour  by 
a  watch,  j^  fterward,  it  was  not  even  necessary  that  the  ob« 
jects  should  be  in  contact  v^^ith  her  body;  she  could  tell  them 
in  any  j^iarl  of  the  room;  and  it  was  only  reciuir-ile  for  this, 
that  the  experimenters  who  were  in  contact  with  her,  should 
direct  her  attention  to  the  proper  point.  Still  later,  she  recog- 
nised and  described  objects  placed  in  another  room,  or  in  the 
street,  or  at  a  distance  ia  places  that  she  had  never  seen. 

Being  requested  to  give  a  description  of  a  convent  at  Bolog- 
na, and  of  the  vaults  under  a  country  house  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  that  city,  of  which  neither  the  patient  nor  her  interro- 
gators had  any  knowledge,  she  described  both  minutely;  and 
her  description  being  taken  down,  was  found  to  correspond 
exactly  with  the  facts,  even  including  the  number  and  posi- 
tion of  the  wine  vessels  in  the  cellars. 

She  was  once  persuaded  by  a  professor  of  the  University,  to 
name  the  objects  that  were  in  a  certain  cabinet  in  the  college; 
she  complied,  and  enumerated  them  exactly.  She  was  asked 
what  was  on  a  certain  table  there,  which  was  indicated  to 
her:  she  said,  "a  book."  ''And  what  on  the  book  ?"  She 
answered,  "  A  brain."  "  What  brain  ?"  She  said,  "  That  of 
some  animal."  "  Wbat  animal  ?"  She  replied,  that  if  he 
would  name  several,  she  could  tell  him  which  was  the  ani- 
mal, and  accordingly  she  told  correctly — the  animal  to  w^hich 
the  brain  had  belonged  was  a  leopard.  She  declared  that  she 
saw  distinctly ;  and  she  certainly  described  the  internal  organs 
of  her  own  body,  and  those  of  other  persons.  Being  subjected 
by  the  professor  above  mentioijed  to  an  examination  in  anato- 
my, she  described  with  astonishing  precision  the  situation  of 
the  heart,  the  pancreas,  the  spinal  marrov/,  and  the  nerves — 
their  connections  and  uses.  And  when  requested  by  the  same 
professor  to  examine  the  internal  condition  of  his  female  pa- 
tient, who  lived  at  some  distance,  she  informed  him  that  the 
disease  was  in  her  womb,  and  was  incurable. 

The  following  account  was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Duvard,  of 
Caen,  and  published  in  the  Gazette  Medicale  at  Paris,  about 
one  year  since. 

Mademoisle  Melanie  has  enjoyed  good  health  up  to  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  when  she  began  to  suffer  from  dry  cough, 
with  pain  in  the  chest  and  headache;  in  January  1841,  she 
was  attacked  on  the  right  side,  and  since  then  has  continued 
to  suffer  from  pain  in  that  region;  the  catamenia  now  de- 
creased in  quantity,  emd  was  finally  arrested. 

In  the  month  of  July  1841, 1  was  first  called  on  to  visit  the 
patient;  she  then  exhibited  all  the  signs  of  pleuritic  effusion. 


193  PATHETISM. 

After  a  variety  of  treatment  continued  for  several  v:eeks,  a 
setou  was  inserted  in  the  patient's  side  and  she  was  compel- 
led to  liave  an  enema — a  remedy  wliich  she  had  previously 
refused  to  submit  to.  A  few  hours  after  the  administration 
of  the  enema  she  was  seized  with  a  most  violent  attack  of 
hysteria,  which  continued  for  several  hours.  The  attacks  of 
hysteria  recurred,  with  the  same  violence,  for  several  succes- 
sive days,  and  seemed  to  be  excited  by  llie  ingestion  of  food, 
which  she  continued  to  cat  with  avidity,  in  spite  of  remon- 
Btrances. 

Six  days  after  the  first  attack  of  hysteria,  the  patient  be- 
came suddenly  dumb,  and  continued  so  for  three  days,  being 
unable  to  articulate  a  single  word;  on  the  fourth  day  she  re- 
covered the  power  of  speech,  at  the  termination  of  a  severe 
hysterical  attack;  the  surprise,  however,  expressed  by  those 
about  her  at  hearing  her  speak,  threw  her  into  a  fresh  fit, 
which  lasted  for  three  hours,  and  ended  in  catalepsy ;  this 
was  on  the  30th  of  August,  1S41.  From  this  period  the  pa- 
tient was  seized  every  day  with  several  attacks  of  catalepsy, 
alternating  with  hysteria,  and  lasting  about  half  an  hcur. 

Daring  the  cataleptic  accesses  there  was  complete  insensi- 
bility of  every  part  of  the  body;    the  limbs  remained  in  the 
most   fatiguing  positions  without  stirring ;    the  respiratory 
movements  were  imperceptible,   and  the  pulsations  of  the 
heart  which  could  scarcely  be  felt,  were  from  CO  to  70  a  min- 
ute.    After  a  few  days  the  cataleptic  tits  became  longer,  and 
lasted  for  several  hours,  being,  hov.ever,  occasionally  inter- 
rupted  for   a   minute   or   two,   whenever  the  girl  coughed. 
Sometimes  she  would  turn  round  in  her  bed  or  sit  up ;    at 
others  she  v/ould  suddenly  start  up,  without  opening  her 
eyes,  and  place  herself  on  the  edge  of  the  bed,  or  on  some 
piece  of  furniture,  in  a  most  fatiguing  posture;    in  this  state 
she  w^ould  remain,  until  a  fit  of  coughing  came  on,  or  until 
she  was  brought  back  to  her  bed.     Although  the  eves  were 
constantly   shut,   she  avoided  every   obstacle  carefulli/,  and 
seemed  heedless  of  risks  which  would  have  alarmed  any  one 
in  a  normal  state.     On  one  occasion  she  left  her  bed  during  a 
fit  of  coughing,  ran  to  the  windov/  and  opened  it;  before  any 
one  could  come  to  her  assistance,  she  had   one  foot  out  of 
the  window,  but  the  cough  suddenly  ceased,  she  became  cat- 
aleptic, and  remained  in  the  same  position  until  some  people 
came  and  placed  her  in  bed. 

When  the  fits  of  hysteria  and  catalepsy  ceased,  the  pa- 
tient recovered  all  her  faculties,  and  merely  complained  of  fa- 
tigue, and  her  ordinary  pain  at  the  side. 

Five  weeks  after  the  first  attack  of  catalepsy,  Mdle.  Me- 
lanie  fell  several  times  into  a  state  of  natural  somnambulism. 


TRANSPOSITION    OF    THE    SENSES.  199 

She  would  get  up  without  openinf^  her  eyes,  walk  about  her 
room,  arrange  her  furniture,  and  enter  into  conversation  with 
those  about  her,  often  mentioning  circumstances  which  she 
would  have  wished  lo  conceal ;  after  remaining  in  this  state 
for  several  hours,  she  fell  into  a  state  of  catalepsy,  indicated 
by  apparent  suspension  of  the  respiration  and  complete  si- 
lence. 

On  the  12th  of  October,  a  few  days  after  her  first  access  of 
somnambulism,  I  found  the  patient  in  a  state  of  catalepsy. 
Having  placed  my  hand  on  the  epigastric  region,  I  noticed 
that  her  countenance  became  expressive  of  pain.  I  then  placed 
my  lips  on  the  pit  of  her  stomach,  and  asked  her  several  ques- 
tions; to  my  astonishment  she  answered  correctly,  for  al- 
though I  had  read  most  of  the  histories  of  this  kind,  recorded 
in  different  works,  I  did  not  believe  one  of  them.  During 
this  first  examination  I  made  numerous  experiments,  which, 
led  me  to  conclude  that  there  was  a  transposition  of  the  five 
senses  to  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  On  the  evening  of  this  day 
I  made  fresh  experiments,  during  three  hours,  in  ihe  presence 
of  numerous  witnesses,  who  v/eve  not  less  surprised  than  my- 
self. In  a  word,  during  two  months,  I  renewed  the  experi- 
ments dailv  and  often  several  times  a  day,  making  use  of  ev- 
ery precaution  to  avoid  deception,  and  having  numerous  Vv^t- 
nesses  around  me.  I  shall  nov/  relate,  the  results  of  these 
experiments. 

During  the  cataleptic  state  the  muscles  presented  three  dif- 
ferent conditions: — Sometimes  they  were  all  relaxed,  and  the 
limbs  could  be  placed  in  any  position,  which  they  retained, 
however  fatiguing  the  posture  might  be;  at  other  times  all 
the  muscles  were  in  a  slate  of  rigid  contraction;  at  others 
again  they  were  relaxed,  and  the  limbs  fell  dovvm  when  raised 
from  the  body. 

There  was  no  sensibility  in  any  part  of  the  body,  except 
over  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  the  palm.s  of  the  hands,  and  soles 
of  the  feet.  Thus  we  might  pinch  the  skin  or  pierce  it  with 
pins,  pull  out  the  hair,  tickle  the  nose,  &c.,  without  eliciting 
any  sign  of  feeling.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  pit  of  the  stom- 
ach, soles  of  the  feet,  or  palms  of  the  hands  were  touched, 
even  with  the  point  of  a  feather,  the  girl  immediately  with- 
drev/  the  part  touched,  and  her  countenance  indicated  displeas- 
ure. AVhen  a  Leyden  jar  was  placed  in  communication  vrith 
the  parts  just  named,  she  had  a  violent  commotion,  or  was 
suddenly  awakened,  but  the  jar  might  be  discharged  on  any 
other  part  of  the  body  without  producing  the  slightest  eflect. 

The  ears  appeared  to  be  insensible  to  sound,  the  loudest 
noise  did  not  attract  her  attention;  but  when  a  small  bell 
was  agitated  over  the  sensitive  parts,  her  countenance  show- 


200  PATHETISM. 

cd  she  heard  the  noise.  If  the  lips  were  placed  in  contact 
with  llic  sensitive  parts,  she  heard  every  ihiug  that  was  said, 
although  the  voice  was  so  lov/  that  it  could  not  possibly  reach 
her  cars,  H':'r  answers  were  delivered  in  an  exceedingly  low 
tone,  and  generally  speaking,  the  person  appointed  to  catch 
them  would  repeat  them  without  hearing  the  question 
asked. 

The  patient  never  spoke,  except  when  her  limbs  were  in  a 
state  of  relaxation ;  during  the  rapid  cataleptic  state  the 
tongue  and  organs  of  speech  v/erc  immoveable. 

The  senses  of  taste  and  smell  were  not  exercised  by  their 
natural  organs,  but  were  very  acute  in  the  sensitive  parts. 
Thus  we  filled  the  nose  with  assafcetida,  or  tobacco;  placed 
bottles  of  ctlier,  concentrated  ammonia,  &:c.,  under  the  nose 
without  producing  the  least  effect;  but  \vhen  a  small  portion 
of  a  sapid  body  w.a3  placed  in  contact  with  the  sensitive  parts 
the  'patient  distinguished  it  at  once.  Thus  she  recognised 
and  named,  one  after  another,  the  syrups  of  poppies,  vinegar, 
gum,  and  capillairc,  wine,  water,  orange  flower  water,  Seid- 
litz  water,  currant  jelly,  &c.,  although  only  one  or  two  drops 
of  each  substance  was  placed  on  the  palm  of  her  hand. 
When  a  few  grains  of  snuff  were  placed  on  the  sole  of  her 
foot,  she  sneezed  at  once,  and  thus  easily  distinguished  at 
once  Frencii  snuiTfrom  English  snuif. 

Although  the  results  of  my  first  experiments  induced  me 
to  think  the  sense  of  vision  Avas  transposed  as  well  as  other 
senses,  subsequent  trials  showed  that  v/hat  I  had  regarded  as 
vision,  was  nothing  more  than  an  exquisite  sense  of  touch. 
When  an  object  v/as  placed  on  any  of  the  sensitive  points,* 
and  she  Vv'as  asked  if  she  saw  it,  she  asv/ered  'Yes,'  and  im- 
mediately named  the  object  if  she  was  acquainted  with  it,  or 
if  not  gave  a  correct  description  of  the  body.  Thus  she  al- 
ways detected  a  watch,  when  placed  over  the  pit  of  the  stom- 
ach, and  never  failed  to  tell  whether  it  was  made  of  gold  or 
silver,  going  or  stopping.  If  asked  the  hour,  she  v/ould  an- 
swer pretty  correctly  as  to  the  true  time  of  day;  but  if  the 
hands  of  the  watch  were  desij^nedly  changed,  she  always 
failed  to  tell  the  time  they  marked.  She  could  distinguish 
and  name  every  kind  of  French  coin  placed  in  her  hand,  but 
not  the  name  of  the  sovereign  in  whose  reign  they  were 
struck;  she  could  distinguish  a  bit  of  silk  from  a  bit  of  cloth, 
but  not  their  respective  colors. 

At  the  second  sitting,  she  succeeded  in  spelling  the  word 
cornmercc,  written  in  larg<2  letters,  and  placed  upon  the  pit  of 
the  stomach ;  this  required  considerable  efforts,  and  she  com- 

■*  What  I  have  called  the  "  sympathetic  points." 


DOUBLE    CONSCIOUSNESS.  201 

plained  for  a  long  time  of  fatigue;  in  subsequent  experiments 
however,  she  was  never  able  to  distinguish  any  of  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet,  when  placed  in  contact  with  sensitive  parts. 
Whenever  I  asked  her  to  point  out  the  seat  of  her  disease, 
and  indicate  to  us  the  appropriate  remedies,  she  refused — an- 
swering that  such  v/as  my  business,  and  not  hers. 

I  have  seen  the  foregoing  account  published  in  the  London 
Medico-Chirurgical  Review,  New-York  Lancet,  and  other 
medical  works,  without  a  word  of  doubt.  But  the  same  state, 
induced  by  pathetism,  would  be  treated  as  humbuggery. 

3.  Double  CoNSCIOus^•Ess. 

I  know  a  lady,  who  tells  me  she  is  frequently  conscious  of 
being  transferred,  as  it  were,  from  one  state  lo  another,  alto- 
gether different,  each  of  them  having  feelings  and  perceptions 
of  things  entirely  difierent  from  each  other. 

A  case  was  published  in  the  Medical  Repository  a  few  years 
ago,  of  a  lady  who  fell  into  a  profound  sleep ;  and  when  she 
waked  up,  she  was  found  to  have  lost  all  recollection  of  her 
previous  life,  even  her  memory  of  words  and  things  was  gone, 
so  that  she  had  to  learn  every  thing  anew.  And,  after  study- 
ing for  some  time  to  acquire  the  use  of  words,  she  again  fell 
into  a  state  of  somnium,  and  on  awaking  from  this  she  re- 
membered every  thing  she  had  forgotten  after  the  first  fit  of 
sleeping;  and  what  was  still  more  singular,  she  now  forgot 
every  thing  which  had  transpired  after  the  first  attack.  And 
for  a  series  of  years  she  alternately  passed  from  one  of  these 
states  to  the  other,  in  one  of  which  her  memory  of  things 
was  entirely  distinct  from  the  other. 

Dr.  Devan  read  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1822,  the  history  of  a  case,  observed  by  Dr.  Dyer  of 
Aberdeen,  in  a  girl  16  years  old,  which  lasted  from  2d  of 
March  to  11th  of  June,  1S15.  The  first  symptom  was  an  un- 
common propensity  to  fall  asleep  in  the  evenings.  This  was 
followed  by  a  habit  of  talking  in  her  sleep  on  those  occasions. 
One  evening  she  fell  asleep  in  this  manner :  imagining  her- 
self an  episcopal  clergyman,  she  went  through  the  ceremony 
of  baptising  three  children,  and  gave  an  appropriate  prayer. 
Her  mistress  shook  her  by  the  shoulders,  on  which  she 
awoke,  and  appeared  unconscious  of  everything,  except  that 


202  PATMETISM. 

she  liad  fallen  asleep,  of  which  she  showed  herself  ashamed. 
She  sometimes  dressed  herself  and  the  children  while  in  this 
state,  Of,  as  Miss  L.  called  it,  'dead  asleep;'  answered  ques- 
tions put  to  her  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  she  under- 
stood the  question;  but  the  answers  were  often,  though  not 
always,  incongruous.  One  day  in  this  state  she  sat  at  break- 
fast, with  perfect  correctness,  with  her  eyes  shut.  She  after- 
wards awoke  with  the  child  on  her  knees,  and  wondered  how 
she  got  on  her  clothes.  Sometimes  the  cold  air  awakened 
Jier;  at  other  times  she  was  seized  with  the  affection  whilst 
walking  out  with  the  children.  She  sang  a  hymn  delight- 
fully in  this  slate;  and  from  a  comparison  which  Dr.  Dyer 
had  an  opportunity  of  making,  it  appeared  incomparably  bet- 
ter done  than  when  awake.  In  the  mean  time  a  still  more 
singular  and  interesting  symptom  began  to  make  its  appear- 
ance. The  circumstances  which  occurred  during  the  par- 
oxysm were  completely  forgotten  by  her  when  the  paroxysms 
were  over,  but  were  perfectly  remarked  during  subsequent 
paroxysms.  Her  mistress  said,  that  when  in  this  stupor,  on 
subsequent  occasions,  she  told  her  what  was  said  to  her  on  the 
evening  when  she  baptised  the  children.  A  depraved  fellow 
servant,  understanding  that  she  wholly  forgot  every  transac- 
tion that  occurred  during  the  fit,  clandestinely  introduced  a 
5'oung  man  into  the  house,  who  treated  her  with  the  utmost 
rudeness,  whilst  her  fellow  servant  stopped  her  mouth  with 
the  bed-clothes,  and  otherAvise  overpowered  a  vigorous  resist- 
ance which  was  made  bv  her  even  during  the  influence  of  her 
complaint.  Next  day  she  had  not  the  slightest  recollection 
even  of  that  transaction;  nor  did  any  person  interested  in  her 
welfare  know  of  it  for  several  days,  till  she  was  in  one  of  her 
paroxysms,  when  she  related  the  whole  fact  to  her  mother. 
Next  Sunday  she  was  taken  to  church  by  her  mistress,  while 
the  paroxysm  was  on  her.  She  shed  tears  during  the  ser- 
mon, particularly  during  the  account  given  of  the  execution 
of  three  young  men  at  Edinburgh,  who  had  described,  in  their 
dying  declarations,  the  dangerous  steps  in  which  their  career 
of  vice  and  infamy  took  its  commencement.  When  she  re- 
turned home,  she  recovered  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  was  quite 
amazed  at  the  questions  put  to  her  about  the  church  sermon, 
and  denied  that  she  had  been  to  any  such  place;  but  next 
night,  on  being  taken  ill,  she  mentioned  that  she  had  been  to 
church,  repealed  the  words  of  the  text,  and,  in  Dr.  Dyer's 
hearing,  gave  an  accurate  account  of  the  tragical  narrative  of 
the  three  young  men,  by  which  her  feelings  had  been  so 
powerfully  affected.* 

*  Dr,  Spurzheim,  Phren.  p.  78,  sq«i. 


PRESENTIMENTS.  203 

A  number  of  similar  cases  were  stated  before  the  Royal 
Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society,  Feb.  28,  1843.  One  by  Dr. 
Webster,  of  a  patient  who  believed  himself  to  be  another  per- 
son, at  the  same  time.  In  one  state,  he  disavows  the  opinions 
and  proceedings  of  the  second  state;  and  in  the  second  state, 
inflicts  punishments  upon  the  body  of  the  first,  for  imaginary 
offences,  and  designates  himself  as  another  by  bad  names 
and  abuse. 

Another  case  was  referred  to  by  Dr.  Mayo,  which  lasted  for 
several  months,  and  seemed  to  have  been  caused  by  the  wo- 
man's swallowing  some  ointment  containing  gunpowder.  In 
one  state  this  woman  learned  and  said  things,  which  she  was 
quite  incapable  of  doing  in  the  other.  In  one  state  she  was 
pert  and  impudent,  and  in  the  other  modest  and  retiring. 

This  double  consciousness  is  peculiar  to  many  somnipath- 
ists.  I  have  one  patient,  who  does  not  remember,  when 
asleep,  that  she  was  ever  in  any  other  state;  and  forgets  all 
she  sees  in  her  sleep,  as  soon  as  restored  to  the  waking  state. 

6.  Presentl'iexts. 

Presentiment  is  an  anticipation  of  something  about  to  take 
place,  to  ourselves  or  friends.  AH  that  is  real  of  these  forebo- 
dings, may  be  traced  to  those  mysterious  laws  of  sympathy, 
which  do,  unquestionably,  sometimes  extend  to  minds  at  a 
distance,  and  thus  make  impressions  upon  that  independent 
sense,  which  is  more  or  less  developed  in  persons  of  a  peculiar 
temperament,  as  we  have  before  seen.  Nor  is  there  any  more 
difficulty  in  this  supposition,  than  in  the  science  of  optics;  for, 
through  what  medium  is  it,  that  the  mind  perceives  those  bo- 
dies which  are  at  such  immense  distances  from  this  earth, 
that  it  must  have  taken  their  rays  of  light  more  than  thirty 
thousand  years  to  reach  the  optic  nerve  ?  And  yet  these  rays, 
after  a  journey  of  so  many  thousands  of  years,  establish  a  rela- 
tion between  those  bodies  and  the  human  mind,  by  which  we 
have  perceptions  of  these  distant  bodies. 

I  have  already  referred  to  a  cerebral  organ,  which  I  have 
called  Prevision.  AVhen  excited,  it  does  seem,  sometimes,  to 
give  a  most  remarkable  perception  of  distant  contingencies ; 


204  TATHETISM. 

nor  is  it  at  all  unreasonable  to  suppose  the  necessity  of  such 
an  organ,  if  "  holy  men  of  old"  were  once  inspired  of  God  to 
foretell  future  events.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  understood  as 
saying,  that  we  could  *'  inspire,"  in  the  same  sense,  any  one 
to  foretell  future  events,  or  that  the  prophets  were  inspired 
by  pathetism.  What  I  mean  is,  that  if  the  Holy  Spirit  in- 
spired the  prophets  to  foretell,  or  have  perceptions,  of  future 
events,  it  proves  that  there  is  an  organ  appropriated  to  this 
function — the  same  as  we  have  one  for  Truth,  another  for 
Hopey  and  another  for  Love.  For,  how  could  man  be  made  to 
do  things,  for  which  he  had  no  appropriate  organ? 

I  suppose  the  organ  of  Foresight  to  be  located  in  the  frontal 
region,  between  the  organs  of  Causality ;  and  when  it  is 
largely  developed,  or  excited  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  it 
may  be  reached  from  the  laws  of  sympathy,  from  various 
causes. 

An  intelligent  gentleman  of  this  city,  and  one,  by  the  w^ay, 
as  little  given  to  the  belief  in  dreams  as  any  one  I  ever  knew, 
gave  me  the  following  account.  Business  rendered  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  visit  Albany.  But,  for  some  reasons  to  him 
altogether  unaccountable,  he  felt  very  much  disinclined  to  go. 
After  vascillating  for  some  time,  he  finally  took  one  of  the 
evening  boats,  and  at  the  usual  hour  retired  in  his  berth.  He 
soon  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed  that  he  saw  his  wife  pale,  and 
scarcely  alive  from  the  loss  of  blood.  She  was  so  near  dead, 
that  she  had  become  quite  cold,  and  he  built  a  fire,  that  by 
warming  the  body  he  might  bring  her  to  life  again.  The  sight 
so  distressed  him,  that  it  waked  him  up  ;  but  on  falling  again 
to  sleep,  he  had  precisely  the  same  dream  again.  The  cause 
of  his  wife's  having  bled  to  death  he  did  not  perceive,  but  it 
now  appeared  that  she  was  cold  and  dead,  from  the  loss  of 

blood. 

On  waking  in  the  morning,  he  found  it  impossible  to  banish 
the  impression  which  these  dreams  had  made  upon  his  mind; 
and  soon  after  reaching  Albany,  he  received  a  letter  summon- 
ing him  to  return,  and  stating  that  his  wife,  within  one  hour 
after  his  departure,  had  met  with  an  accident,  from  which  she 
had  well  nigh  flooded  to  death.    On  returning,  he  found  that 


PRESENTIMENTS.  305 

^.she  had,  indeed,  been  so  near  dying,  that  the  physicians  and 
friends  had  given  her  up,  supposing  that  nothing  could  by  any 
means  save  her  life. 

When  he  left  her,  he  had  not  anticipated  anything  of  the 
kind,  and  is  not  conscious  that  such  an  accident  ever  entered 
into  his  mind.  And  I  should  add,  that  this  gentleman  has  no 
faith  in  clairvoyance. 

Now,  if  this  were  a  solitary  case,  we  could  merely  say  it 
was  quite  remarkable.  But,  when  viewed  in  connection  with 
numerous  others  still  more  remarkable,  it  does  not  seem  alto- 
gether unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  there  may  be  in  these 
cases  certain  sympathetic  laws,  which  operate  upon  two  or 
more  minds  at  the  same  time  in  giving  presentiments  of  what 
is  passing,  or  about  to  take  place,  in  other  places.  The  fol- 
lowing cases  will  illustrate  these  laws : 

Junge  Stilling,  in  his  Almanac  of  1808,  relates  a  remarka- 
ble presentiment  of  a  minister,  who  was  taking  a  walk  v/ith 
the  intention  of  visiting  a  rocky  mountain  near  his  house,  and 
of  enjoying  the  beautiful  view  from  it.  While  approaching 
the  summit  of  the  mountain,  he  felt  restless  and  uneasy  ;  un- 
able to  explain  this  feeling,  he  asked  himself,  whether  it  was 
right  for  him  to  spend  his  time  thus  idly,  and,  busied  in  such 
thoughts,  he  stepped  aside  for  a  moment  to  seek  a  cool  place 
under  a  wall  foniied  by  the  rock.  He  had  scarcely  left  the 
narrow  path  leading  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  when  a  large 
stone,  breaking  loose  from  the  rest  of  the  rock,  v.'ith  great  ve- 
hemence struck  the  spot  v/here  one  moment  before  he  was 
standing. 

The  Rev.  John  Dodd,  one  evening,  when  already  undressed, 
felt  a  great  agitation  in  his  mind,  which  was  altogether  imac- 
countable  to  him.  It  secm'ed  to  him,  that  he  ought  to  go  and 
visit  a  friend,  who  lived  a  mile  or  two  off  from  him.  His  fa- 
mily tried  to  dissuade  him  from  going  that  night,  but  their 
efforts  were  in  vain.  Mr.  Dodd  v/ent,  dark  as  it  was,  and  on 
arriving  at  the  house  of  his  friend,  he  found  him  ready  to 
commit  suicide.  His  unexpected  visit  and  counsel  prevented 
the  deed  for  ever,  and  his  friend  became  converted  by  divine 
grace. 

Schiller,  the  great  poet,  was  in  the  habit  of  walking  with 
his  steward.  At  one  time,  when  passing  on  a  rugged  path 
through  a  pine  wood  and  between  high  rocks,  he  was  seized 
by  a  feeling  that  some  person  must  be  buried  there.    Some 

s 


206  PATHETISM. 

time  after,  he  was  informed  of  the  murder  of  a  wagoner  com** 
mitted  at  the  place,  of  which  he  had  the  presentiment.^ 

5.  rRoniETic  Dreams. 

The  same  sympathetic  laws  which  influence  the  suscepti- 
bility so  as  to  give  obscure  perceptions  of  future  contingen- 
cies, may  affect  the  mind  during  sleep,  as  is  proved  by  what 
have  been  called  prophetic  dreams.  The  murder  of  Mr. 
Adams,  in  this  city,  some  two  years  since,  by  J.  C.  Colt,  was 
anticipated  by  the  wife  of  the  former,  before  it  took  place. — 
Two  days  before  her  husband's  disappearance,  she  dreamed, 
twice,  that  he  was  murdered,  and  that  she  saw  his  body  cut 
into  pieces  and  packed  in  a  box.  The  dreams  gave  her  great 
concern,  from  their  vividness;  and  she  went  once  to  relate 
them  to  her  mother,  but  did  not,  from  the  apprehension  of 
being  laughed  at.f 

The  following  is  quoted  from  the  London  Times  of  August 
16,1828:— 

In  the  night  of  the  11th  of  May,  1812,  Mr.  Williams,  of 
Scorrier  house,  near  Redruth,  in  Cornwall,  av/oke  his  wife, 
and  exceedingly  agitated,  told  her,  that  he  had  dreamed  that 
he  was  in  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  saw  a 
man  shoot  with  a  pistol,  a  gentleman  who  had  just  entered 
the  lobby,  who  was  said  to  be  the  chancellor :  to*  which  Mrs. 
Williams  naturally  replied  that  it  was  only  a  dream,  and  re- 
commended him  to  be  composed,  and  go  to  sleep  as  soon  as 
he  could.  He  did  so,  and  shortly  after  again  avv^oke  her,  and 
said,  that  he  had  the  second  time  had  the  same  dream ; 
whereupon  she  observed,  he  had  been  so  much  agitated  with 
liis  former  dream,  that  she  supposed  it  had  dwelt  on  his  mind, 
and  begged  of  him  to  try  to  compose  himself,  and  go  to  sleep, 
which  he  did.  A  third  time  the  vision  was  repeated;  on 
Vv'hich,  notwithstanding  her  entreaties  that  he  would  be 
quiet,  and  endeavor  to  forget  it,  he  arose,  being  then  between 
one  and  two  o'clock,  and  dressed  himself.  At  breakfast, 
the  dreams  were  the  sole  subject  of  conversation;  and  in  the 
forenoon  Mr.  Williams  went  to  Falmouth,  where  he  related 
the  particulars  of  them  to  all  of  his  acquaintance  that  he  met. 
On  the  following  day,  Mr.   Tucker  of  Trematon  Castle,  ac- 

*  Rauch's  Psychology,  p.  132. 
I  Commercial  Advertiser  of  Oct.  11,  1841. 


PROPHETIC,  DREAMS.  207 

tompanied  by  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Williams,  went  to 
Scorrier  house  about  dusk. 

Immediately  after  the  first  salutations,  on  their  entering 
the  parlour,  where  were  Mr.,  Mrs.,  and  Miss  Williams,  Mr. 
Williams  began  to  relate  to  Mr.  Tucker  the  circumstances  of 
his  dream ;  and  Mrs.  Williams  observed  to  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Tucker,  laughingly,  that  her  father  could  not  even  suffer 
Mr.  Tucker  to  be  sealed,  before  he  told  him  of  his  nocturnal 
visitation:  on  the  statement  of  which,  Mr.  Tucker  observed, 
that  it  v/ould  do  very  well  for  a  dream  to  have  the  chancellor 
in  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons,  but  that  he  would 
not  be  found  there  in  reality;  and  Mr.  Tucker  then  asked 
%vhat  sort  of  a  man  he  appeared  to  be,  when  Mr.  Williams 
minutely  described  him ;  to  which  Mr.  Tucker  replied :  Your 
description  is  not  at  all  that  of  the  chancellor,  but  it  is  cer- 
tainly very  exactly  that  of  Mr.  Perceval,  the  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer;  and  although  he  has  been  to  me  the  greatest  en- 
emy I  ever  met  with  through  life,  for  a  supposed  cause, 
which  had  no  foundation  in  truth,  (or  words  to  that  effect,)  I 
should  be  exceedingly  sorry  indeed  to  hear  of  his  being  assas- 
sinated, or  of  an  injury  of  the  kind  happening  to  him.  Mr. 
Tucker  then  inquired  of  Mr.  Williams  if  he  had  never  seen 
Mr.  Perceval,  and  was  told  that  he  had  never  seen  him,  nor 
had  ever  even  written  to  him,  either  on  public  or  private 
business;  in  short,  that  he  never  had  any  thing  to  do  with 
him,  nor  had  he  ever  been  in  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  his  life.  Whilst  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Tucker  were 
still  standing,  they  heard  a  horse  gallop  to  the  door  of  the 
house,  and  immediately  after  Mr.  Michael  Williams  of  Tre- 
viner  (son  of  Mr.  Williams  of  Scorrier)  entered  the  room,  and 
said,  that  he  had  gallopped  out  from  Truro,  (from  which 
Scorrier  is  distant  seven  miles,)  having  seen  a  gentleman 
there,  who  had  come  ^yJf^t  eyening's  mail  from  London, 
who  said  that  he  had  bee^ro  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons on  the  evening  of  the  11th,  when  a  m.an  called  Belling- 
ham  had  shot  Mr.  Perceval;  and  that  as  it  might  occasion 
some  great  ministerial  changes,  and  might  affect  Mr.  Tuck- 
er''3  political  friends,  he  had  come  out  as  fast  as  he  could,  to 
make  him  acquainted  with  it,  having  heard  at  Truro,  that  he 
had  passed  through  that  place  on  his  way  to  Scorrier.  After 
the  astonishment  which  this  intelligence  had  created,  had  a 
little  subsided,  Mr.  Williams  described  most  particularly  the 
appearance  and  dress  of  the  man  that  he  saw  in  his  dream 
fire  the  pistol,  as  he  had  before  done  of  Mr.  Perceval.  About 
six  weeks  after,  Mr.  Williams  having  business  in  town,  went 
accompanied  by  a  friend,  to  the  Plouse  of  Commons,  where, 
ii.ii  has  been  already  observed,   he  had  never  before  been> 


208  PATHETISM. 

Immediately  that  lie  came  to  the  steps  at  the  entrance  of  the 
lobby,  he  said,  '  This  place  is  as  distinctly  within  my  recollec- 
tion, in  my  dream,  as  any  room  in  my  house;'  and  he  made 
the  same  observation  when  he  entered  the  lobby.  He  then 
pointed  out  the  exact  spot  where  Bellingham  stood  when  he 
fired,  and  which  Mr.  Perceval  had  reached  when  he  was 
struck  by  the  ball,  and  where  and  how  he  fell.  The  dress, 
both  of  Mr.  Perceval  and  Bellingham,  agreed  with  the  des- 
criptions given  by  Mr.  Williams,  eren  to  the  most  minute 
particular. 

The  Times  states,  that  Mr.  AVilliams  was  then  alive,  and 
the  witnesses,  to  whom  he  made  known  the  particulars  of 
his  dream,  were  also  living;  and  that  the  editor  had  received 
the  statement  from  a  correspondent  of  unquestionable  ve- 
racity. 

Dr.  Binns,  after  relating  the  case  of  Dr.  Walker,  of  Dublin, 
who  was  buried  alive,  observes — 

"  Here  is  a  man  who,  as  it  were,  possessed  an  instinctive 
knowledge  that  he  should  be  buried  alive,  and  who  was  so 
convinced  of  it,  that  he  wrote  a  treatise,  with  a  view  if  possi- 
ble to  avert  so  horrid  a  calamity ;  and  still  farther  to  assure 
himself,  entered  into  a  compact  with  a  second  party,  for  the 
fulfilment  of  certain  precautions  before  he  should  be  consigned 
to  earth,  yet,  disappointed  in  the  end,  and  compelled  to  bow 
to  the  inscrutible  fiat  of  that  law  of  natural  contingencies 
which  the  imaginative  Greeks  erected  into  supertheism,  and 
consecrated  by  the  tremendous  name  of  Destiny." 

The  following  case  is  quoted  by  the  same  author,  from  Dr. 
Abercrombie,  who  states,  "  that  Ip  accuracy  may  be  relied 
on  in  all  its  particulars." 

Two  sisters  had  been  for  some  days  attending  their  broth- 
er, who  was  suffering  from  a  common  sore-throat,  severe  and 
protracted,  but  not  considered  dangerous.  At  this  time  one 
of  the  sisters  had  obtained  the  loan  of  a  watch  from  a  friend, 
her  own  being  ou  t  of  repair.  As  this  watch  was  a  kind  of  heir- 
loom m  the  family  of  the  lady  from  whom  it  had  been  bor- 
rowed, particular  caution  was  given  lest  it  should  meet  with 
some  injury.  Both  of  the  sisters  slept  in  a  room  adjoining 
that  ot  the  brother's,  and  one  night  the  elder  awoke  the 
younger  in  extreme  alarm,  and  told  her  that  she  had  dreamed 
that  "**  Mary's  watch  had  stopped,"  and  that  when  she  had 


PROPHETIC   DREAMS.  S09 

told  her  of  it,  she  had  replied—"  Much  worse  than  that  had 
happened,  for  Charles's  breath  had  shopped  also."  To  quiet 
her  agitation,  the  younger  immediately  arose,  proceeded  to 
her  brother's  room,  found  him  asleep,  and  the  watch  which 
had  been  carefullv  put  away  in  a  drawer,  going  correctly. 
The  following  night  the  same  dream  occurred,  accompanied 
by  the  same  agitation,  and  quieted  in  the  same  manner— the 
brother  being  sound  asleep,  and  the  watch  going.  In  the 
morning,  after  breakfast,  one  of  these  ladies  having  occasioa 
to  v/rite  a  note,  proceeded  to  her  desk,  while  the  other  sat 
with  her  brother  in  the  adjoining  room.  Having  vmtten  and 
folded  the  note,  she  was  proceedmg  to  take  out  the  watch 
which  was  now  in  the  desk,  to  use  one  of  the  seals  appended 
to  it,  when  she  was  astonished  to  find  it  had  stopped,  and  at 
the  same  instant  a  scream  from  her  sister  hurried  her  to  the 
bed  side  of  her  brother,  v/ho,  to  her  grief,  had  just  breathed 
his  last.  The  disease  was  considered  to  be  progressing  fa- 
vorably, when  he  was  seized  with  a  sudden  spasm,  and  died 
of  suffocation.  The  coincidence  between  the  stoppage  of  the 
watch  and  the  death  of  the  brother,  is  the  most  perplexing 
circumstance  of  the  case,  since  the  mere  stopping  of  the 
watch,  or  the  death  of  the  brother,  might  have  been  explain- 
ed on  very  rational  principles;  or  had  the  watch  stepped  be- 
fore or  after  the  death  of  the  brother,  it  might  have  been  eas- 
ily supposed  to  have  been  forgotten  to  be  woundup;  or  it 
m'ay  have  suffered  some  injury  from  the  hurry  and  trepida- 
tion incidental  to  anguish  and  bereavment,  but  as  the  case  is 
related,  it  is  certainly  a  most  extraordinary,  surprising,  and 
mysterious  incident. 

In  the  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Wotten,  by  Isaac  Walton,  there  is 
a  dream  related  of  Sir  Henry's  father,  Thomas  Wotten.  A 
little  before  his  death,  he  dreamed  that  the  University  of 
Oxford  was  robbed  by  townsmen  and  poor  scholars  five  in  num- 
ber ;  and  being  that  day  to  write  to  his  son  Henry,  at  Oxford, 
he  thought  it  worth  so  much  pains  as  by  a  postscript  to  his  let- 
ter to  make  a  slight  inquiry  of  it.  The  letter  was  written 
from  Kent,  and  came  into  his  son's  hands  the  very  morning 
after  the  night  on  which  the  robbery  was  committed  ;  for  the 
dream  was  true,  and  the  circumstances,  though  not  in  the  ex- 
act time,  and  by  it  such  light  was  given  to  this  work  of  dark- 
ness, that  the  five  guilty  persons  were  presently  discovered 
and  apprehended.    Waltqn  also  says,  "  that  Thomas  AVotten, 


* 


s 


210  PATHETISM. 

and  his  uncle  Nicolas  "Wotten,  who  was  Dean  of  Canterbury, 
both  foresaw  and  foretold  the  day  of  their  deaths." 

Dreams  of  this  kind  have  been  known  from  the  earliest 
ages  of  the  world  ;  and  some  of  the  most  remarkable  instances 
of  which  may  be  found  recorded  in  the  Bible,  Genesis  xxxvii. 
5—36. 

6.  Witchcraft. 

Did  the  limits  of  the  present  work  admit  of  it,  it  would  be 
an  easy  matter  to  explain  all  the  mysteries  of  witchcraft,  by 
the  lavvTs  of  the  human  mind  developed  in  a  preceding  chap- 
ter. Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of  the  woman  who  consult- 
ed the  fortune  teller,  and  who  actually  died  the  next  day,  ac- 
cording to  his  prediction.  Or,  the  cases  of  the  children  in 
Holland,  who  were  seized  with  sympathetic  convulsions ;  or 
either  of  the  fanaticisms  before  referred  to  ;  and  notice,  how 
they  were  spread  by  sympathy,  or  by  excitement,  or  fear. — 
The  susceptibility  becomes  highly  developed,  and  moulded 
into  almost  any  shape,  which  the  fanaticism  or  v/hims  of  the 
affected  ones  may  please  to  give  it. 

There  is  not  a  case  of  witchcraft  upon  record,  but  which 
would  confirm  this  statement. 

What  more  likely  to  bev/itch  an  ignorant,  fearful,  and  per- 
haps a  highly  susceptible  person,  than  to  charge  him  with 
witchcraft,  as  many  have  been,  from  envy  or  hatred  ?  The 
bare  suspicion  spreads  from  ear  to  ear,  and  strikes  terror 
throughout  the  neighborhood  and  country  where  the  belief  in 
witches  obtains.  The  suspected  person  is  shunned,  as  being 
worse,  if  possible,  than  the  devil  himself;  and  the  horror  and 
fear  attendant  on  the  mere  suspicion  of  a  crime  so  monstrous, 
and  dreadful  in  its  effects,  prostrates  all  before  it,  and  leaves 
nothing  but  fear  and  witchery  in  its  train. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


CLAIRVOYANCE. 


Nothing,  perhaps,  has  tended  more  to  check  the  confidence 
of  intelligent  people  inPathetism,  than  the  assumptions  which 
have  been  put  forth,  at  different  limes,  in  behalf  of  what  has 
been  called  Clairvoyance.     Nor  is  it  at  all  surprising  that  per- 
sons, not  familiar  wdth  the  laws  developed  in  such  cases  as 
have  been  detailed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  should  be  stum- 
bled at  these  assumptions,  and  refuse  their  credence  to  reports 
which,  to  them,  are  as  really  extravagant,  as  if  they  ac-serted 
the  actual  resurrection  of  the  dead.     The  human  mind,  when 
well  balanced  in  the  cerebral  developments,  is  not  to  be  con- 
vinced in  this  way;   and  hence,  it  is  quite  unphilosophical  to 
attempt  to  bring  it  over,  by  appeals,  merely,  to  the  organs  of 
marvellousness,  or  belief.     The  intellect  must  first  be  inform- 
ed— we  must  first  have  an  apprehension  of  the  laws  of  mind, 
and  be  able  to  see  how  it  is,  that  the  mind  obtains  its  percep- 
tions in  a  waking  normal  state,  before  we  can  readily  admit 
its  power  of  seeing  without  the  use  of  the  eye. 

In  order  to  fully  understand  the  human  mind,  and  as  far  as 
possible,  the  nature  of  its  capabilities  and  exercises,  of  course 
we  must  examine  it  in  its  different  states.  We  must  dissect, 
as  it  were,  its  numerous  phenomena;  we  must  examine  it  in 
its  sleeping  state ;  we  must  analyze  its  operations  when  they 
are  manifested  through  a  diseased  brain ;  we  must  know  how 
difi*erent  states  of  the  nervous  system  affect  its  mysterious 
agency,  and  be  able  to  show  tlie  difference  between  the  re- 
sults of  morbid  and  healthy  cerebral  action.  And  hence  it  be- 
comes an  inquiry,  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  to  what  kind 
of  action  the  brain  is  subjected  in  the  production  of  clairvoy- 
ance.    Is  it  morbid,  or  healthy  ? 

.Human  knowledge  is  the  conscious  perception  of  any  posi- 
tive or  relative  existence.     But  this  consciousness  raay  exist 


21 '2  PATIIETlSiM. 

in  various  degrees  in  diflerent  persons,  and  in  different  de* 
grees  in  the  same  person  at  different  times,  according  to  the 
size  and  proportions  of  the  mental  organs.  Uodoubtedly  it 
must  exist  in  the  greatest  perfection  in  those  persons,  where 
the  cerebral  developments  are  the  nearest  to  perfection,  not 
only  as  it  respects  their  size  and  proportion,  but  as  it  regards 
their  healthy  exercise.  It  is  therefore  manifestly  evident, 
that  knowledge  must  be  highest  in  those  cases,  where 
tlie  brain  is  of  the  necessary  size,  and  where  the  organs  are 
properly  balanced,  and  sufficiently  exercised  with  healthy  ac- 
tion; and  we  must  admit  the  compctencij  of  the  human  mind 
in  a  waking  state,  where  the  mental  organs  are  thus  proper- 
ly developed  and  balanced,  to  determine  on  the  question 
whether  any  given  proposition  be  true  or  false.  We  cannot 
allow  that  the  human  mind  may  ever  set  up  a  standard  of 
its  own  attainments,  in  any  but  a  healthy  waking  state.  To 
admit  the  reverse  of  this  would  be  opening  the  door  for  the 
annihilation  of  all  knowledge,  without  leaving  us  any  availa- 
ble use  of  either  sense  or  perception. 

The  question  is  not  whether  the  mind,  in  a  state  of  som- 
nipathy,  may  not  have  a  perceptions  of  facts,  which  it. 
could  not  know  in  the  waking  slate  ;  but  it  is  as  to  whether 
the  knowledge  said  to  be  obtained  in  this  state,  should  form 
a  standard  by  which  all  other  knowledge  possessed  by  the 
human  mind,  in  a  waking  state,  should  be  tried  and  judged  ? 
That  is,  shall  we  judge  of  the  knowledge  said  to  be  possessed 
by  a  person  in  this  sleep,  by  the  knowledge  we  have  of  the 
mind,  and  the  nature  and  limits  of  evidence  in  the  waking 
stale,  or  shall  we  judge  of  the  latter  by  the  former? 

We  have  seen,  that  there  are  certainly  two  kinds  of  sleep. 
At  least  the  nervous  system  of  certain  persons,  is  susceptible 
of  being  put  into  a  stale,  which  in  many  respects  resembles 
sleep,  enough  to  be  designated  by  this  term.  And  many 
have  noticed  the  phenomena  peculiar  to  somnium  or  som« 
nambulisra,  v/ho  wholly  reject  all  that  is  said  to  be  peculiar 
to  a  slate  of  somnipathy,  and  this,  too,  when  it  will  be  seen, 
at  once,  that  there  is  scarcely  anything  more  remarkable  in 
the  latter  than  has  often  been  known  to  occur  in  the  former 
slate. 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  213 

But  in  regard  to  the  induced  clairvoyance  of  which  such  mar- 
vellous stories  have  beea  circulated,  there  are  many  things  to 
be  taken  into  the  account,  which  should  not  be  overlooked, 
especially  by  those  who  think  they  have  penetrated,  by  this 
agency,  as  it  were,  into  the  secrets  of  another  world.  When 
this  subject  becomes  better  understood,  it  will  not,  perhaps 
be  a  matter  of  so  much  surprise,  that  different  operators  have 
been  so  frequently  deceived  as  to  the  real  nature  of  the  phe- 
nomena which  they  may  have,  in  some  form  or  another, 
been  the  means  of  producing.  There  is  something  quite  cap- 
tivating in  many  of  the  aspects  which  this  subject  often  as- 
sumes. Of  the  reality  of  "  the  human  influence"  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  Where  it  is  used  for  the  relief 
of  human  suffering,  or  in  those  cases  where  a  state  of  sleep 
is  produced,  the  mind  of  the  operator  is  frequently  taken  by 
surprise,  and  carried  so  far  from  its  true  bias,  that  it  be- 
comes quite  ready  to  receive,  as  equal  realities,  whatever 
may  be,  in  any  way,  associated  with  this  strange  state. 

The  facts  detailed  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  work, 
are  sufficient  to  demonstrate,  beyond  all  question,  that  man 
has  a  faculty,  or  sense,  which  in  some  cases  sees,  or  has  ac- 
curate perceptions  of  things,  without  the  use  of  the  external 
senses.     Is  it  not  this  sense  which  guides  the  feathered  tribes 
in  their  migrations  from  one  hemisphere  to  another  ?     Is  it 
not  this  sense  which  guides  the  ox  in  selecting  tvv^o  hundred 
and  seventy-six  kinds  of  herbs,  and,  at  the  same  time,  teaches 
him  to  avoid  two  hundred  and  eighteen,  as  unfit  for  food  ? 
A  species  of  spider  digs  a  hole  in  the  earth,  about  two  feet 
deep,  and  closes  it  with  a  curious  trap  door,  so  as  to  deceive 
and  keep  out  every  intruder,      "^e  tortoise,  though  hatched 
a  mile  from  the  water,  no  sooner  leaves  its  shell,  than  it  runs 
directly  to  the  ocean,  without  a  guide.      The  sphex  fabulosa, 
as  if  moved  by  a  prophetic  instinct,  prepares  little  cells  in 
the  earth,  then  she  fetches  spiders  and  deposites  one  with 
each  egg,  that  the  little  ones  may  have  food  as  soon  as  they 
break  forth  from  the  shell.     All  animals,  without  instruction, 
move  with  perfect  skill  from  the  time  of  their  birth,  from  one 

place  to  another ;    and  they  use  their  limbs,  and  select  their 


^l-i*  PATIIETISM. 

food  at  the  proper  time  and  place.  Mix  salt  and  arsenic,  and 
it  is  said  a  sheep  will  select  the  former  from  the  latter,  a  thing 
which  man  could  not  do. 

A  gentleman  on  one  of  tho  wharves  at  Edgartown,  Mass., 
noticed  a  large  spider  floating  on  a  chip;  the  tide  was  run- 
ning out  of  the  harbour,  and  the  wind  blowing  on  shore,  and 
the  spider  after  surveying  all  parts  of  his  vessel,  found  him- 
self near  the  outer  corner  spile  of  the  wharf,  when,  perceiving 
that  he  should  soon  drift  by,  he  immediately  began  to  spin 
his  web.  The  threads  were  fortunately  blown  against  the 
spile  and  firmly  fixed.  Having  thus  succeeded  in  making  fast 
to  the  wharf,  the  ingenious  voyager  hauled  along  side  and 
landed  in  safety. 

This  sense  has  been  called  insti7ict,  but  it  demonstrates  the 
power  of  sensation  and  perception,  as  really  as  these  powers 
are  known  to  exist  in  the  human  species.  True,  for  the  exer- 
cise of  perception  in  man,  we  have  the  largest  cerebral  deve- 
lopments, the  strength  and  activity  of  which  depend  on  the 
power  of  the  vital  forces,  and  the  balance  of  the  sympathetic 
laws  before  referred  to ;  and  that  this  'perceptive  power  in  maa 
is  sometimes  most  extraordinarily  developed,  and  transposed 
from  one  part  of  the  system  to  another,  is  well  known.  In 
diseases  of  the  nervous  system,  persons  have  been  able  to  see 
without  the  use  of  the  eyes,  and  to  do  things  Avhich  they 
could  not  do  when  in  a  healthy  or  waking  state.  And  cases 
have  often  occurred,  where  persons  long  sick,  and  enfeebled 
with  disease,  have,  all  at  once,  become  so  strong  by  an  ex- 
citement of  the  cerebral  system,  as  successfully  to  resist  the 
strength  of  two  or  three  able-bodied  men.  The  nerves  and 
muscles,  in  such  cases,  sg|k  to  possess  superhuman  power, 
and  the  brain  to  be  endo^^r  with  a  most  unaccountable  sus- 
ceptibility. 

The  cases  before  the  reader  are  abundantly  sufficient  to 
show,  that  what  we  call  clairvoyance  is  simply  the  exercise 
of  this  sense,  which  is  spontaneously  developed  in  cases  of 
disease  or  nervous  derangement.  And,  though  I  doubt  not 
but  I  have  witnessed  \vliat  would  be  considered  some  of  the 
most  remarkable  cases  of  induced  clairvoyance  ever  knowu^ 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  215 

yet,  I  should  not  be  willing  to  assume  beforehand,  that  one 
person  out  of  the  v/hole  would  describe,  without  any  mistake, 
what  neither  of  us  knew  any  thing  about,  till  the  time  the 
description  was  given.  True,  I  have  had  many  such  descrip- 
tions; but  they  have  been  given  under  circumstances  which 
have  taught  me  to  be  careful  how  I  presume  upon  this  pow- 
er, or  report  accounts  of  its  exercise  which  will  not  bear  the 
most  rigid  investigation. 

There  are  so  many  chances  for  mistakes,  and  there  may  be 
so  many  disturbing  causes,  that  I  never  like  to  give  descrip- 
tions from  somnipathists,  as  demonstrative  eviderices  of  clair- 
voyance to  those  who  know  nothing  of  this  phenomenon. — 
Descriptions  of  what  is  in  the  mind  of  the  operator  mio-ht  be 
evidences  of  clairvoyance  to  him,  while  it  would  not  be  evi- 
dence to  any  other  person.  But  these  accounts,  in  order  to 
satisfy  others,  should  be  made  of  things  under  the  following 
circumstances : — 

The  patient  should  repeatedly  describe  accurately,  what  no 
other  person  present  knows,  or  what  all  the  persons  present 
know;  that  neither  the  patient  nor  operator  had  any  previous 
knowledge  of;  and  the  things  described  should  be  examined 
immedtately  afterwards  by  all  who  heard  the  description,  that 
they  may  see  and  judge  of  its  accuracy. 

I  have  before  stated,  that  I  have  frequently  rendered  per- 
sons clairvoyant,  as  it  is  called,  without  putting  them  into  a 
state  of  sleep;  and  in  seme  of  these  cases  their  descriptions 
were  accurate,  as  near  as  could  be  ascertained,  as  much  so  as 
those  of  persons  perfectly  asleep. 

I  have  long  been  fully  satisfied,  that  the  most  appropriate 
and  perhaps  the  only  proper  application  of  this  power,  is  to 
the  description  and  cure  of  disease,  and  to  the  delineation  of 
MIND,  and  the  best  methods  for  its  development;  as  it  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  the  exercise  of  that  sense  by  which 
we  become  cognizant  of  mind  and  things;  that  sense  by 
which  we  obtain  knowledge  of  every  thing  which  is  knowa- 
ble,  and  which  seems  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  investi- 
gations which  relate  to  the  human  system. 

There  are  two  considerations  which  hare  produced  the 


216  PATIIETISM. 

conviciion  above  stated.  The  first  is,  that  all  persons  in  a 
state  of  somyiipathij,  as  well  as  those  called  natural  sleep- 
wakcrs,  have  always  been  known  to  describe  diseases,  and 
the  physiology  of  the  human  system,  better  than  they  could 
describe  anything  else.  Every  person  who  is  familiar  with 
the  induced  sleep,  will  agree  in  this  statement.  I  have  had 
the  testimony  of  some  of  the  best  and  most  experienced  palh- 
etisers,  to  this  fact.  They  all  agree,  that  their  subjects  des- 
cribe, with  the  greatest  ease  and  accuracy,  when  their  atten- 
tion is  directed  to  the  human  body  for  benevolent  purposes. 
It  is  true,  some  allowance  should  be  made  for  the  manner  in 
which  patients  have  been  educated,  as  somnipathists  may  be 
trained  into  habits  of  doing  various  things;  but  I  am  certain 
that  v/hen  this  sleep  follows  an  effort  for  their  own  or  anoth- 
er's good,  they  will  be  more  accurate  in  describing  disease  or 
the  mental  powers,  of  themselves  or  others,  than  in  their  de- 
scriptions of  anything  besides.  If  I  am  right  in  this  supposi- 
tion, it  follows  that  it  is  a  perversion  of  this  faculty  when 
it  is  made  to  ateD:ipt  descriptions  of  various  articles,  merely  to 
gratify  an  idle  curiosity.  And  it  may  account  for  the  numer- 
ous failures  which  always  occur  in  the  attempts  to  produce 
what  is  called  clairvoyance ;  as  we  know  but  few  of  what 
are  called  clairvoyants,  have  ever  been  able  to  give  descrip- 
tions o{  things  which  neither  they  nor  the  operator  ever  saw, 
which  were  strictly  true.  Two  thirds  of  these  may  be  set 
down  as  failures,  and  half  the  other  third  will  be  found  to  be 
wholly  or  partially  untrue,  while  the  remainder  is  given  in 
such  terms  as  often  forbid  our  setting  the  description  down  as 
plain,  unmixed  matter  of  fact. 

The  other  consideration  to  which  I  have  alluded  is  the  fact 
that  most  somnipathists  are  not  olny  averse  to  any  at- 
tempts at  clairvoyance  of  things,  but  these  attempts  not  unfre- 
quently  are  followed  with  injury  to  the  patient.  An  operator 
called  on  me  a  short  time  since,  to  relieve  a  patient  from  a  fit 
ot  ijisanity,  brought  on  by  his  attempt  to  make  her  clairvoy 
ant ;  but  no  such  mischiefs  follow  the  legitimate  application 
of  this  agency.  Where  you  find  a  somnist  or  one  in  a  state 
of  somnipathy,  their  descriptions  of  disease,  and  of  the  men- 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  217 

tal  character  of  others,  will  be  spontaneous,  or  follow  the 
wish  of  the  operator  provided  the  patient  be  properly  manag- 
ed. One  of  the  first  phenomena  noticed  by  Puyseger,  (the 
first  who  produced  a  state  of  somnipathy  of  whom  we  have 
any  account),  was  the  knowledge  which  his  patient  seemed 
to  have  of  his  own  disease ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent it  has  been  found,  that  all  persons  in  this  state  more  read- 
ily describe  their  own  or  another's  disease,  or  the  mental  dis- 
positions of  others,  than  any  thing  which  is  not  connected 
with  the  health  or  character  of  any  one.  I  have  subjects  at 
the  present  time,  who  describe  diseases  with  an  accuracy 
truly  astonishing,  and  what  is  still  more  remarkable,  they  de- 
scribe the  diseases  of  persons  whom  they  never  saw.  One 
lady  in  this  city  has  described  accurately  the  cases  of  numbers 
of  persons,  whom  she  never  saw,  and  of  whom  she  knows 
nothing  in  the  waking  state ;  and  of  part  of  this  number,  I 
knew  nothing  at  the  time. 

Sometimes  we  have  the  persons  present  who  are  to  be  ex- 
amined. In  these  cases,  the  somnipathist  puts  his  hands  on 
the  head,  and  traces  from  different  portions  of  the  brain  to 
the  parts  afi"ected;  and  seldom  have  I  ever  known  them 
to  fail  in  finding  and  describing  the  difficulty  which  consti- 
tuted the  disease;  and  this  they  have  often  done  when  phy- 
sicians had  failed  altogether  in  their  attempts  to  tell  what  the 
malady  was,  and  also  in  their  attempts  to  remove  it.  They 
tell  me,  also,  in  many  cases  what  will  prove  the  most  success- 
ful ia  effecting  a  cure ;  and  I  could  produce  the  testimony  of 
scores  whom  I  have  examined  in  this  way,  who  would  affirm 
that  these  descriptions  of  their  cases  by  a  person  in  the  som- 
nipathic  state,  were  more  correct  and  satisfactory  than  any 
they  ever  had  from  physicians  or  others. 

In  this  way  I  have  obtained  the  most  remarkable  and  accu- 
rate delineations  of  character  and  the  mental  pow^s  of  dif- 
ferent persons.  This  may  seem  to  be  mere  fancy  to  some, 
I  know,  but  I  speak  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness. 

The  first  thing  of  this  kind  that  attracted  my  attention  was 
the  fact,  that  one  of  my  subjects  never  failed  to  tell  me  the 
feelings  and  peculiar  dispositions  of  every  one  who  was  put 

T 


218  TATHETISM. 

in  communication  with  her;  and  some  time  after  I  had  com- 
menced the  course  of  cerebral  experiments  heretofore  de- 
scribed in  this  work,  I  found  one  of  my  patients  excessively- 
fond  of  putting  his  hands  on  the  head  of  different  persons, 
and  when  he  did  so  he  instantly  sympathised  with  them  in 
the  feelings  of  the  different  organs. 

The  folloAving  is  a  specimen :  it  is  from  the  minutes  of  my 
experiments  commenced  in  December,  1841.  It  is  the  des- 
cription of  the  head  of  a  lecturer  on  phrenology,  who  was 
present,  and  who  had  for  the  first  time  the  day  before,  wit- 
nessed the  excitement  of  the  phrenological  organs  by  palhe- 
tism.  After  having  given  a  correct  description  of  his  head, 
she  gave  a  specimen  of  the  controversy  which  had  been  go- 
ing on  during  the  day  between  his  mental  organs,  on  the 
truth  of  what  he  had  seen: — 

Causalilij.  "  I  don't  know  about  it— I  must  examine  it  fur- 
ther." 

Faith.  "Yes,  it  is  true." 

Conscience.  "But  is  it  right ?^^ 

Human  Nature.  "I  don't  know,  there  may  be  deception 
in  all  this." 

Acquisitiveness.  "  Can  I  make  any  thing  by  magnetism  ? 
How  will  it  affect  my  purse  ?  can  I  make  money  by  it  ?" 

Faith.  "  Yes,  I  must  believe  it." 

Causality.  "Hold,  I  must  inquire  more  about  it." 

Comparison.  "Wait  till  I  can  compare  it  with  other  things 
I  know,  and  then  I  can  tell  better." 

Mirth.  "Ha,  ha,  ha!    Faith  has  the  majority." 

"  The  organs  had  been  in  such  a  conflict,  that  his  brain  is 
much  heated  and  excited." 

Language 'of  Ideas.  "Says  nothing,  but  like  the  girPs 
beau,  looks  glorious  thoughts." 

The  gentleman  bore  us  witness,  that  he  was  both  amused 
and  not  a  little  surprised,  on  hearing  the  thoughts  of  his 
mind,  which  he  himself  had  never  uttered,  so  correctly  de- 
scribed by  another. 

Nor  is  this  power  confined  to  persons  in  a  state  of  somni- 
pathy,  or  natural  somnambulism.    Persons  have  been  known 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  S119 

in  different  ages,  %Yho  have  possessed  a  remarkable  laculty 
for  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of  the  diseases  and  characters  of 
others.  In  soma  this  faculty  seems  to  be  natural,  and  in  oth- 
ers to  have  been  acquired. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  many  cases  of  my  own, 
which  may  be  taken  as  specimens  of  the  manner  in  which 
this  faculty  is  exercised. 

Mr.  T.  applied  to  me,  saying  he  had  consulted  physicians 
in  vain  for  some  years,  and  was  stiil  at  a  loss  in  determining 
what  the  cause  of  the  difficulty  was  under  which  he  was  suf- 
fering. Nothing  was  said  to  me  of  his  symptoms.  He  re- 
tired, with  the  promise  of  calling  again  the  following  day. — 
On  consulting  my  patient,  he  at  once  said  he  saw  the  person 
to  whom  I  referred,  and  described  him  as  follows : — 

Tall,  small  stature,  light  complexion,  thin  light  hair.  His 
brain  is  somewhat  diseased,  but  the  difficulty  of  which  he 
complains,  is  a  pain  located  in  the  calf  of  the  right  leg.  It  is 
quite  painful  at  times,  and  was  caused  by  taking  mercury 
some  years  ago.  My  patient,  among  other  prescriptions,  men- 
tioned the  medicated  vapor  bath. 

On  calling  the  next  day,  Mr.  T.  declared  the  description  to 
be  literally  correct. 

About  three  weeks  after  Mr.  T.  called  again,  and  on  ursrino- 
the  privilege  of  an  examination  of  another  case,  when  he 
might  be  present,  the  arrangement  was  made  accordingly. — 
The  time  and  place  having  been  agreed  on,  Jie  came,  but  was 
not  introduced  to  my  patient.  After  putting  the  latter  in  a 
state  of  somnipathy,  I  asked  him  if  he  saw  any  body  in  the 
room  with  us  ?  He  answered,  no.  I  then  directed  him  to 
iook  in  the  direction  in  which  Mr.  T.  was  sitting,  and  at  once 
he  said,  "  Oh,  this  is  the  gentleman  whom  I  examined  some 
weeks  ago,  and  who  had  the  pain  in  the  right  leg.  Oh,  he  is 
better,  much  better  now ;  he  has  done  as  I  directed  him  to; 
see,  he  is  quite  cheerful."  The  eyes  of  the  patient  were  fast 
closed  all  this  while.  Mr.  T.  testified  to  the  truth  of  what 
was  said;  and  then  handed  me  a  lock  of  hair.  The  patient 
refused  to  touch  the  hair,  but  readily  gave  the  following  de- 
scription of  the  person  to  whom  it  had  belonged : — 


220  TATHETISM. 

"  It  is  from  the  head  of  a  man.  He  seems  to  be  a  Christian, 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  He  is  troubled  with  a  difficulty  in 
his  speech,  he  speaks  in  a  monotonous  tone  of  voice.  His 
throat  is  aiTected  -with — what  do  you  call  it?  [I  said,  bron- 
chitis ?J  Yes,  that  is  it.  His  throat  is  very  much  inflamed. 
He  is  not  in  this  city,  but  is  at  a  distance.  He  has  been  in  the 
habit  of  taking  some  kind  of  stimulants,  I  should  think  tea 
and  coffee,  perhaps,  and  speaking  in  crowded  rooms.  He  is 
very  firm  and  self-confident."  This  account  Mr.  T.  declared 
to  be  literally  correct ;  and  he  affirmed,  that  that  person  had 
long  been  known  to  be  a  most  inveterate  tea-drinker,  and  his 
monotonous  style  of  speaking  was  known  to  every  one  who 
had  ever  heard  him ;  and  as  an  evidence  of  his  self-confidence, 
he  mentioned  his  boasting  of  his  having  carried  his  views 
against  overv/hclming  opposition,  in  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  in  this  city. 

An  intelligent  lady  applied  to  me  for  information  about  her 
own  health;  but  without  giving  me  any  idea  as  to  what  it 
related.  On  putting  my  patient  to  sleep,  she  described  the 
lady,  and  stated  distinctly  what  it  was  she  wanted  to  know. 
On  giving  this  account  to  the  lady,  she  was  quite  overcome, 
and  confessed  the  account  was  of  the  precise  matter  concern- 
ing which  she  wished  to  be  informed. 

A  lock  of  hair  was  sent  me  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  with  a 
request  that  one  of  my  patients  should  describe  the  person  to 
whom  it  had  belonged.  There  were  two  physicians  present 
on  making  the  examination,  and  one  of  them  took  down  the 
following  description  from  the  lips  of  the  somnipathist.  She 
refused  to  touch  the  hair,  and  begged  that  it  might  not  be  put 
into  her  hand.  However,  I  placed  it  in  contact  with  her  hand, 
and  she  immediately  became  convulsed  from  head  to  foot. 
She  cried,  and  acted  strangely,  as  if  deranged.  In  a  moment 
she  became  so  rigid  throughout  the  muscular  system,  that  it 
was  with  some  difficulty  I  could  restore  her.  On  being  ren- 
dered calm,  she  said  : — 

"  I  see  him — he  is  a  great  way  off.  He  has  a  good  many 
complaints,  caused  in  the  first  place  by  sudden  cold.  I  see 
him  sitting  alone  in  a  small  room ;  he  holds  his  hands  strange- 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  221 

!y;  now  he  is  walking  about.  He  once  was  intelligent,  but 
now  he  does  not  knoiv — his  reason  is  lost — he  is  deranged. 
Oh,  he  is  very  pale.  I  do  not  like  to  look  at  him.  I  was  af- 
fected just  now  as  he  is.  He  seems  to  be  about  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  has  been  deranged  more  than  eight  years." 

Two  days  alter,  I  obtained  a  second  description  of  the  same 
case,  from  another  subject,  of  course.  This  somnipathist 
knew  nothing  of  the  person  to  be  described.  On  requesting 
her  to  examine  and  see  if  she  could  find  the  person  to  whom 
that  hair  belonged,  she  gave  an  involuntary  shudder,  and  was 
considerably  convulsed ;    and  described  the  case  as  follows : — 

"  Oh,  he  is  crazy ^  he  is  crazy  !  Oh,  do  take  him  away — 
do,  do  take  him  av/ay  from  that  place.  They  '11  kill  him ! 
Oh,  it  will  never  do  for  him  to  stay  there.  They  have  almost 
killed  him,  by  giving  him  so  much  medicine.  Oh,  why  did 
they  make  him  take  so  much  medicine !  His  stomach  is  in  a 
dreadful  state.  He  has  been  crazy  for  eight  or  nine  years. 
They  must  sweat  it  out  of  him.  It  would  do  him  good  to 
sweat  it  out  of  him,  especially  if  he  could  be  pathetised.  But 
they  must  not  keep  him  confined  in  that  place;  he  must  exer- 
cise mere." 

During  this  description  the  patient  complained  of  sickness, 
and  seemed  to  suffer  sympathetically  with  the  person  she 
was  describing. 

These  descriptions  I  sent  to  the  sister  of  the  person  descri- 
bed, and  soon  after  received  from  her  the  following  reply  : — 

Providence,  R.  /.,  Feb,  2,  1S43. 
^    Mr.  Sunderland. 

Sir, — The  description  of  my  brother's  case,  given  by 
your  clairvoyants,  as  to  the  cause  of  his  complaint,  the  time  it 
has  been  upon  him,  his  condition,  &c.  is  very  correct. 

At  the  time  of  your  examination,  he  had  been  confined  in 
the  county  jail  for  six  months;  and  in  justice  to  your  descrip- 
tion I  would  further  state,  that  in  the  sprmg  of  1S35,  when 
we  first  became  fully  convinced  that  he  was  decidedly  deran- 
ged, he  was  conveyed  to  the  Insane  Hospital  in .    We 

were  not  permitted  to  receive  any  intelligence  of  him  in  three 
months,  when  we  learned  that  he  was  so  far  reduced  by  their 
treatment,  that  they  judged  him  unable  even  to  ride  home,  a 
distance  of  forty  miles.    At  the  end  of  about  six  months,  we 


222  PATHETISM. 

brought  him  away,  merely  skin  and  bones,  and  in  a  stale  of 
complete  dementalion.  He  did  not  know  one  of  his  family, 
and  frequently  crawled  about  on  his  hands  and  feet,  like  a 
beast.  As  his  mind  gradually  returned,  he  would  speak  of 
his  treatment  at  the  Hospital,  and  said  they  pumped  medicine 
into  his  stomach  three  or  four  times  a  week,  and  sometimes 
this  was  done  at  midnight.  By  some  means,  while  there  he 
was  deprived  of  the  use  of  his  left  arm  and  hand,  and  has  not 
been  able  to  straighten  three  of  his  lingers  on  the  other  hand 
from  that  time  to  this.  Respectfully, 

Waity  a.  Mowrt. 

Mr.  0.  Wilmarth,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  may  be  called  on 
for  a  confirmation  of  the  above  account. 

It  has  long  been  a  question,  upon  which  different  patheti- 
sers  have  found  it  difficult  to  agree,  as  to  whether  the  patient 
obtains  his  knowledge  from  the  mind  of  the  operator,  or  inde- 
pendently of  him.  The  true  answer  undoubtedly  is,  they  ob- 
tain their  perceptions  in  different  ways.  That  the  foregoing 
descriptions  were  not  given  from  .sympathy  with  my  own 
mind,  is  certain ;  for  I  had  no  views  of  the  cases.  And  yet,  it 
will  be  found  that  somnipathists  do  often  sympathise  with 
the  views  and  feelings  of  the  operator  to  such  a  degree,  that 
he  merely  gives  his  views  and  feelings  upon  the  subject  in- 
quired about.  Nor  do  some  pathetisers  seem  to  be  aware, 
how  very  easy  it  is  to  give  a  somnipathist  an  apprehension  of 
the  desired  answer,  by  the  manner  of  pressing  the  question. 
Hence  I  could  place  little  or  no  dependence  on  the  reported 
descriptions  of  any  patient,  unless  I  knew  all  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  case,  and  especially  as  to  how  the  questions  were 
put  in  order  to  get  the  information.* 

*  I  have  known  of  a  number  of  cases  like  the  following  : — 
A  patient  by  some  means  had  been  throvv'n  into  severe  convulsions, 
■while  in  the  somnipathic  state.    The  operator,  unable  to  relieve  her, 
inquired  of  her  (she  Avas  said  to  be  clairvoyant)   to  know  how  she 
could  be  rclie\ed  ;  but  «he  covJd  not  tell.    I  was  sent  for,  and  relieved 
her  instantly,  without,  however,  shov/ing  the  operator  how  I  did  it.    A 
few  days  after,  the  same  patient  was  alarmingly  convulsed  again  ;  but 
■  now,  she  directed  the  operator  to  relieve  her  in  the  very  way  I  had 
done  before.    This  was  considered,  by  the  operator,  as  a  valualjle  dis- 
covery ! 

Another  operator  put  a  patient  of  mine  to  sleep,  and  on  questioning 
her,  she  directed  him  as  to  the  best  process  for  putting  one  to  sleep, 
and  waking  him  up.    It  was  the  very  process  by  which  1  had  always 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  223 

The  following  experiments  are  interesting,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  performed  on  a  person  perfectly  blind,  (the  same 
one  referred  to  in  a  preceding  chapter,)  and  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  an  intelligent  committee,  as  before  stated. 

Each  of  the  patient's  answers,  except  vAien  the  action  of 
the  cerebral  organs  were  suppressed  or  excited,  were  of  the 
things  knoivn  to  the  operator ;  and  hence  it  is  certain,  that  she 
got  her  knowledge,  in  these  cases,  by  syynpathy  with  his 
mind ;  as  she  could  tell  nothing,  when  asleep,  which  depend- 
ed upon  the  sense  of  sight  or  hearing,  which  was  not  known 
to  him. 

To  render  the  proceedings  more  satisfactory,  the  committee 
was  appointed  to  determine  on  the  order  of  proceeding,  and 
to  see  that  there  could  be  no  collusion  between  the  operator 
and  the  patient. . 

On  being  put  to  sleep,  a  stranger  v/ent  up  and  was  put  in 
communication  with  her.  In  answer  to  the  questions  put  to 
her,  she  stated  his  name,  (Eddy,)  and  the  number  of  his  resi- 
dence, 17  Park  Place. 

A  card  was  held  over  her  head ;  she  told  what  it  was,  and 
pronounced  the  name  (Stewart)  written  upon  it,  correctly. 

A  piece  of  paper  was  placed  over  her  head  which  had  the 
following  letters,  prominently  written  upon  it: — A.  H.  0.  R. 
S.  V.  Z.     She  pronounced  all  the  letters  except  one. 

The  following  figures  were  next  read:  1.  3.  4.  7.  8.  0.  6. 
Apiece  ofpaper  witha  red  wafer  was  held  over  her  head. 

operated  on  that  same  patient ;  but  the  operator  in  this  case,  thought 
it  a  most  important  discovery. 

Another  still  more  important  "  discovery,"  was  made  in  the  follow- 
in"-  manner.    With  the  patient  in  v/hom  I  first  excited  the  mental  or- 
gans, by  touching  various  places  in  the  face,  I  had  had  frequent  con- 
versations in  the  somnipathic  slate,  to  find  out  what  she  would  state  in 
relation  lo   Dr.  II.  H.  Sherwood's  hypothesis  of  tlie  polarity  of  the 
human  brain.    Soon  after  exciting  lier  mental  organs  from  different 
points  in  the  face  and  neck,  another  person  put  her  to  sleep,  and  asked 
her  what  those  points  in  the  face  were.  "  Oh,''  said  the  patient,  '•'  they 
are  the  poles  of  the  mental  organs."    And  "  upon  this  hinV^  that  same 
person  reported  himself  as  havhig  made  the  discovery  of  the  "  poles  of 
the  cerebral  organs  ;"  and  I  have  seen  his  claims  thus  announced  in  a 
foreif^n  Journal !     But  the  manner  in  which  that  same  man  interfered 
■with  mv  subject,  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  my  experiments,  may 
be  left  for  detail  to  another  occasion. 


224  PATHETISM. 

She  was  asked  what  colour  the  thing  wrs;    and  answered, 
*'red." 

A  phial  was  handed,  by  one  of  the  Committee,  to  the  oper- 
ator. When  he  had  tasted  the  liquid  in  il,  the  patient  made 
up  quite  a  wry  face.  She  was  questioned,  and  answered  as 
follows , — 

Q.  •'  What  is  the  matter,  Mary  ?" 

A.  "  It  tastes  sour." 

Q.  "What  is  it?" 

A.  "  Vinegar." 

The  phial  contained  vinegar. 

The  operator  irritated  his  hand  with  a  knife.  She  threw 
her  hand  about,  and  manifested  considerable  uneasiness. 

One  of  the  Committee  tookher  bonnet,  and  putting  it  on  his 
own  hdad,  stepped  behind  her.  On  being  asked,  she  told 
who  it  was  that  stood  behind  her,  as,  also,  what  he  had  on 
his  head,  and  to  whom  it  belonged. 

An  Almanac  was  held  over  her  head. . 

Q.  "What  is  this,  Mary?" 

A.  "An  Almanac." 

Q.  "  What  is  its  date  ?" 

A.  "1842." 

This  was  correct.  The  almanac  was  just  from  the  press, 
prepared  for  the  next  year. 

Q.  "  What  kind  of  Almanac  is  it?" 

A.  "Phrenological." 

Q.  "  What  is  on  the  first  page  ?" 

A.  "Picture  of  a  man's  head." 

She  was  shown  a  part  of  a  newspaper,  and  read  a  part  of 
its  name. 

One  of  the  Committee  took  a  finger  ring  from  Dr.  L.  and 
handed  it  to  the  operator. 

Q.  "  What  is  this,  Mary  ?" 

A.  "  A  ring." 

Q.  "  To  whom  does  it  belong  ?" 

A.  "To-L." 

Dr.  L.  said  it  was  not  his,  but  Prof.  M.  had  said  to  the  op- 
erator, that  it  belonged  to  Dr.  L. 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  '2'25 

A  cane  was  held  over  her  head. 

Q.  "  What  is  this,  Mary  ?" 

A.  "A  cane." 

Q.  "  To  whom  does  it  belong." 

A.  "ToMr.  V." 

Q.  "What  are  the  letters  on  the  end  of  it  ?" 

A.  "J.  V." 

This  was  trile.     Another  cane  was  presented  to  her. 

Q.  "  To  whom  does  this  belong,  Mary  ?" 

A.  *'R— ." 

The  letter  "R."  was  all  that  could  be  heard  in  this  an- 
swer.    The  cane  belonged  to  Mr.  Reed. 

A  number  of  watches  were  presented. 

Q.  "What  is  this,  Mary  1" 

A.  "A  watch." 

Q.  "  What  time  is  it  by  this  watch,  Mary  ?" 

A.  "  Twenty  minutes  past  eight."  The  watch  had  stopped 
at  that  hour. 

Q.  "  What  time  is  it  by  this  watch  ?" 

A.  "  Half-past  ten." 

This  answer  was  correct. 

She  was  now  seated  at  the  Piano. 

The  tune,  "  Spring  is  not  Spring  to  me,"  was  selected  by 
one  of  the  audience.  After  repeating  "  They  tell  me  Spring 
is  coming,"  at  a  signal  given  by  one  of  the  spectators,  she 
was  suddenly  stopped. 

The  Committee  signified  what  they  wished  the  operator  to 
cause  the  patient  to  do  by  signs ;  no  noise  was  made,  and  as 
she  was  blind,  of  course  she  could  not  know  what  she  was  de- 
sired to  do,  except  by  sympathy. 

At  a  given  sign  to  the  operator  the  patient  commenced 
playing  "  The  Old  Arm  Chair."  Another  sign,  and  she  stop- 
ped in  the  midst  of  a  bar,  as  before.  A  sign  was  made  again, 
and  she  commenced  exactly  where  she  left  off  in  the  first 
tune.  Another  of  the  spectators  then  selected,  *' Woodman, 
Spare  that  Tree."  A  sign  was  given,  and  she  stopped.  An- 
other sign,  and  she  commenced  exactly  where  she  left  off, 
"  The  Old  Arm  Chair." 


226  PATHETISM. 

The  operator  reversed  the  passes  over  those  portions  of  the 
brain  appropriated  to  tune. 

"  Mary,  I  want  you  to  play  this  tune  for  me." 

Mary.  "  I  can't  play  it." 

*' I  want  you  to  play  this,  Mary;  you  know  it  is  a  great 
favorite  of  mine." 

M.  "I  would  play  it  if  I  could;  but  I  can't  think  of  the 
air." 

"  Can  you  repeat  the  words  to  me?" 

M.  "O  yes." 

**  Well,  repeat  ihem." 

M.  "My  sister  dear,"  &c.  (repeating  the  verse.) 

And  while  she  was  repeating  the  verse,  the  operator  excit- 
ed the  organs  of  tune  ;  and  while  doing  this  she  commenced 
playing,  and  sung,  "My  Sister  Dear,"  kc.  And  while  she 
was  singing  this,  he  reversed  the  passes  over  her  head  for  the 
purpose  of  waking  it  up.  She  ceased  playing,  and  as  if 
awake,  in  her  natural  state,  answered  whatever  questions 
were  put  to  her,  by  one  of  the  spectators.  While  she  was 
conversing  with  her,  the  operator,  (unknown  to  her)  pathe- 
tised  her  head,  and  she  immediately  began  where  she  left  off 
in  the  last  tune. 

I  am  aware  that  patients,  in  a  state  of  somnipathy,  may 
often  be  made  to  hear  at  a  great  distance ;  but  it  is  not  clear, 
as  to  whether  they  hear  by  the  ordinary  sense  of  hearing,  or 
by  the  same  sense  by  which  they  see  in  this  state.  I  am  in- 
clined to  the  latter  opinion. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  many  experiments  of  the'kind  which 
demonstrate  the  reality  of  a  peculiar  sympathy  between  the 
patient  and  operator,  and  which  shew  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt  the  existence  of  that  perceptive  power,  which,  in  certain 
states  of  the  physical  system,  may  be  exercised  so  as  to  give 
accurate  descriptions  of  things  without  the  use  of  the  external 
senses. 

The  following  details  are  furnished  me  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Fah- 
nestock,  of  Lancaster,  Penn.,  and  may  be  depended  upon  as  a 
faithful  report  of  facts,  which  resulted  from  his  own  experi= 
ments : — 


CLYIRVOYANCE.  227 

Subject,  Mrs.  H- — ,  of  most  exemplary  character,  who 
had  been  laborhi;^  under  a  nervous  affection  of  the  eyes  and 
lower  extremities  for  nearly  two  years,  but  who  has  been  en- 
tirely restored  by  pathetism  alone.  She  was  requested  to  tell 
what  a  certain  gentleman  had  in  his  yard,  at  the  distance  of 
several  miles.  When  asked  whether  she  would  gratify  the 
gentleman  by  looking,  she  said  she  did  not  care ;  and  after  she 
had  looked,  she  asked  me  what  kind  of  an  animal  it  was.  I 
told  her  I  did  not  know  what  was  there,  as  the  gentleman 
had  been  very  careful  not  to  tell  me.  "  Well,"  says  she,  "  it 
is  a  raccoon ;  he  is  fastened,  and  is  now  lying  in  a  box  near 
the  oven,  asleep."  The  gentleman  frankly  stated,  that  she 
was  correct.  lie  had  placed  it  there,  and  came  over  in  the 
evening  to  test  her  powers.  Some  time  previous  to  this,  she 
was  requested  by  a  sceptic  to  visit  a  gentleman's  apiary  at  a 
distance,  and  to  tell  the  number  of  hives,  and  the  condition  of 
the  bees,  which  he  represented  to  be  in  a  very  flourishiog  con- 
dition. After  looking,  she  remarked  that  he  had  about  twenty 
hives,  but  that  the  bees  were  all  dead.  This  seemed  strange 
to  me,  and  I  asked  her  whether  she  was  sure  that  they  were 
all  dead.  She  said,  "  Yes,  you  will  see  they  are  all  dead." 
The  gentleman  then  stated  that  such  was  the  truth,  and  that 
the  fact  had  not  been  known  to  any  but  himself.  On  another 
occasion,  she  was  requested  by  a  neighbour  to  visit  his  house, 
and  to  state  where  his  wife  was,  and  what  she  was  doing. 
After  stating  several  things  respecting  her  to  his  satisfaction, 
she  asked  me  when  the  tree  before  Mr.  B.'s  door  had  blown 
dov/n.  I  asked  Mr.  B.  whether  that  was  the  fact,  and  instead 
of  answering  my  question,  he  requested  me  to  ask  her  whe- 
ther it  was  all  iiluwn  down.  She  said,  "No,  about  the  half 
of  it."  Such  was  the  fact.  Half  of  the  tree,  a  very  large 
willow,  which  stood  before  the  door,  had  blown  down  the 
evening  before,  and  next  morning  early  the  fa-jt  was  stated  to 
the  owner,  unasked,  and  independent  of  any  communication 
between  the  two  houses.  His  intended  visit  was  unexpected 
to  us,  and  the  distance  betv/een  the  two  houses  is  about  four 
miles. 

Patients  are  always  in  sympathy  with  the  operator,  yet,  as 
they  frequently  relapse  into  that  peculiar  state  of  forgetful- 
ness  which  they  call  sleep,  it  is  necessary,  when  the  operator 
is  desirous  of  performing  an  experiment,  fi-^st  to  draw  their  at- 
tention, and  to  obtain  their  lull  consent,  before  he  can  succeed. 
They  have  the  power  of  placing  themselves  in  communica- 
tion with  any  one  they  please,  even  at  a  distance,  and  caa 
read  or  knov/  their  rnind,  if  they  be  so  disposed.  They  can 
do  this  at  any  *'  angle,"  without  the  aid  of  *'  that  bowl  of  m.o- 
lasses,"  or  any  other  agent. 


2*28  PATHETISM. 

• 

This  peculiar  power  enables  them  to  know  the  mind  of  any 
one  in  the  rooni,  and  is  the  reason  why  all  unfair  and  ungen- 
tlcmanly  skeptics  are  unable  to  receive  such  proofs  of  their 
abilities  as  would  be  satisfactory.  I  have  no  doubt,  some  will 
smile  at  this  assertion ;  and  yet,  I  can  assure  those  who  are 
interested,  that  in  good  subjects  this  power  is  very  evident, 
and  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  any  one  to  receive  satisfac- 
tion, unless  they  prosecute  their  experiments  with  the  right 
spirit. 

It  now  gives  me  pleasure  to  state,  that  I  am  able  to  give 
you  the  result  of  some  of  my  experiments,  which  were  prose- 
cuted to  test  the  powers  of  the  other  senses,  under  like  cir- 
cumstances, in  the  same  state,  and  more  particularly  the 
sense  of  hearing,  which,  together  with  the  other  senses, 
strange  and  unnatural  as  it  may  seem,  they  are  enabled  to 
translate  and  use  at  a  distance. 

When  the  sense  of  hearing  is  pathetised,  the  subject  does 
not  hear  unless  there  is  an  express  desire  on  his  or  her  part 
to  do  so;  and  when  that  desire  ceases,  the  sense  relapses  into 
its  former  forgetfulness,  and  is  then  deaf  to  every  sound  but 
the  voice  of  the  operator.  They  are  ahvays  obliged  to  hear 
him,  and  if  they  are  willing  to  listen  he  can  direct  them  to  do 
so,  and  they  will  hear  others  speak,  &c.  without  any  other 
communication.  This  they  can  do,  independent  of  his  will ; 
and  v/hen  they  desire  to  listen,  they  can  hear  the  slightest 
whisper  even  at  a  distance,  and  I  have  as  yet  not  been  able 
to  set  any  bounds  to  it,  if,  indeed,  there  be  any. 

My  experiments  have  been  conducted  with  the  utmost 
care ;  and  I  am  confident,  that  if  similar  experin^ents  be  re- 
peated by  others,  with  proper  care,  the  results  will  be  as  sa- 
tisfactory to  them,  as  mine  have  been  to  me. 

Experiment  1st.  Subject,  a  young  lady.  Three  persons 
were  requested  to  retire  into  a  distant  part  of  the  yard,  and  to 
speak  of  something  which  they  should  bear  in  mind.  When 
asked  what  they  were  speaking  about,  she  said,  "  they  are 
talking  about  the  kitchen  and  the  piazza;"  and  when  request- 
ed to  state  the  exact  words  they  were  speaking  at  that  mo- 
ment, she  replied,  that  "  Mr.  Z.  just  now  said  that  it  will  do 
very  well,"  alluding  to  the  manner  of  the  trimming  of  the 
trees,  &c.  They  were  then  requested  to  come  in ;  and  when 
told  v/hat  she  said,  they  declared  that  those  were  the  subjects 
spoken  about,  and  the  exact  words  that  had  been  uttered. 

Experiment  2d.  Subject,  a  lady  in  the  country.  \Vas  re- 
quested to  state,  what  they  were  speaking  about  in  the  house 
of  a  neighbor  about  one  hundred  yards  distant,  and  the  doors 
being  both  closed.  She  said  they  were  speaking  about  a  Mr. 
M ,  who  lived  at  a  distance.    Answer  ascertained  to  be 


CLAIRVOYANCE.  229 

correct.  This  experiment  was  perforraed  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  without  anv  previous  arrangement,  and  therefore 
puts  the  possibility  of  collusion  out  of  the  qnesticn. 

Experiment  3d.'  Subject,  a  young  lady.  Was  requested  to 
state  what  two  young  ladies  were  speaking  about  in  the  next 
room,  who  had  retired  for  that  purpose.  They  were  directed 
to  whisper  barely  loud  enough  for  the  one  to  hear  the  ether. 
Her  answer  was  correct. 

Experiment  4th.  Subject,  a  lady.  Was  requested  to  listen 
to  some  music  at  a  distance.  Said  she  heard  it,  named  the 
tunes  that  were  played  in  succession,  and  the  Irind  of  instru- 
ment upon  which  they  were  performed,  kc.  This  was  also 
performed  without  any  previous  arrangement.  Ker  state- 
ments were  ascertained  to  be  correct. 

Experiment  5th.  Subject,  a  lady.  Was  requested  to  listen 
to  what  a  young  lady  was  singing,  who  had  been  sent  out 
into  the  woods  for  that  purpose  by  certain  skeptics,  with  di- 
rections to  sing  m^ercly  loud  enough  to  hear  herself,  and  to 
note  \vhich  piece  she  sang  first,  kc.  Answer :  "  She  is  sing- 
ing, 'My  soul  is  heaven  bound,  glory,  hallelujah  !'"  and  after 
a  pause  of  perhaps  half  a  minuie  she  said,  "and  now  she  has 
commenced  the  Promised  Land."  Answer  correct.  She  sang 
but  two  pieces,  and  those  so  low,  that  (to  use  the  young  la- 
dy's own  expression,)  it  was  impossible  for  any  person  to 
have  heard  at  the  distance  of  three  yards. 

I  have  two  subjects,  both  gentlemen,  in  Vv-hom.  the  sense 
of  seeing  is  not  pathetised,  at  the  same  time  that  the  sense  of 
hearing  is,  and  who  are  both  able  in  that  state  to  translate 
themselves,  or  rather  their  senses,  to  a  distance;  and  al- 
though they  can  see  nothing,  they  are  enabled  to  hear  every 
thing  that  is  said,  &:c.  They  have  frequently  told  what  was 
spoken  at  the  distance  of  several  miles;  and  when  taken  to 
a  cocoonery  at  the  distance  of  four  miles,  they  declared  they 
could  hear  the  worms  feeding  as  distinctly  as  if  their  ears 
had  been  within  an  inch  of  them. 

Both  of  these  gentlemen  were  at  one  time  skeptics,  and  en- 
tered this  state  out  of  curiosity.  One  of  them  has  lately  en- 
tered into  this  state  m.ore  perfectly,  and  upon  the  tenth  trial 
was  enabled  to  see,  and  has  now  become  a  most  excellent 
clairvoyant. 

With  these  and  several  other  subjects,  I  have  performed 
many  like  experiments  at  even  a  much  greater  distance;  and 
so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  they  have  ahvays  been 
correct.  If,  then,  they  can  hear  and  repeat  the  exact  words 
spoken,  or  the  music  played,  kc.  at  a  distance  so  far  exceed- 
ing the  powers  of  the  same  sense  in  a  natural  state,  how  can 

V 


230  rATIIETISM. 

we  limit  their  abilities  ?  I  have  also  made  many  experiments 
to  test  the  powers  of  the  senses  of  touch,  taste,  feeling,  smell, 
&:c.  at  a  distance,  with  the  most  decided  success;  and  I  am 
now  perfectly  convinced,  that  they  can  translate  all  their  fa- 
culties to  a  distance,  and  use  them,  as  correctly  and  with  as 
much  judgment  as  in  tlieir  natural  state. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

If  the  reader  has  made  a  candid  and  impartial  examination, 
of  the  facts  and  arguments  detailed  in  the  preceding  pages,  I 
cannot  doubt  as  to  the  conclusions  to  which  he  must  already 
have  arrived.  And  if  he  has  accompanied  his  observations 
with  experiments,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  soundness  of 
the  theory  I  have  advocated  in  this  work,  I  am  quite  confi- 
dent that,  though  he  should  not  agree  with  me  in  some  minor 
points,  yet  we  shall  not  differ  in  the  more  important  princi- 
ples.    As,  for  instance  : — 

1.  With  regard  to  the  reality  of  that  agency  which  I  have 
denominated  pathetism.  No  fact  in  physiology  is  more  clearly 
demonstrated,  than  the  existence  of  that  susceptibility  of  the 
human  system,  en  which  impressions  are  made  by  mere  men- 
tal or  physical  sympathy.  To  doubt  this,  with  the  evidences 
before  him,  which  are  always  available  to  the  candid  inquirer 
after  truth,  one  must,  indeed,  doubt  his  own  senses ;  and  he 
might  as  well  distrust  his  own  competency  to  arrive  at  the 
truth  upon  any  subject. 

2.  As  to  the  nature  of  this  agency.  I  have  fully  shown,  I 
think,  that  it  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  any  kind  of  fluid  elimina- 
ted from  the  operator  into  the  subject,  either  magnetic,  elec- 
trical, galvanic,  or  nervous.  And  since  I  became  quite  fami- 
liar with  this  agency,  it  has  appeared  to  me  a  matter  of  no 
small  astonishment,  that  the  many  intelligent  and  scientific 
minds  who  have  hitherto  investigated  this  subject,  should  not 
have  seen  the  reasons  which  demonstrate,  as  I  think  they  do, 
so  clearly,  the  fallacy  of  the  old  theory  of  a  universal  fiuid. 
Indeed,  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  notion  are  insupera- 
ble :  they  can  never  be  reconciled  to  what  we  know  to  be 
matter  of  fact. 


232  PATHETISM. 

Nor  is  there  any  necessity  for  such  a  mediiuTi.  If  it  be 
asked,  how  the  cerebral  system  of  one  person  can  be  impress- 
ed by  the  cerebral  influence  of  another,  without  a  connecting 
fluid,  I  might  answer: — 

How  does  the  brain  become  impressed,  or  how  does  the 
mind  have  perceptions  of  distant  objects,  sucii  as  the  planets, 
or  distant  friends?  Is  the  mind  so  constituted,  that  it  cannot 
have  perceptions  and  views  of  distant  things  wiihcut  a  con- 
necting medium,  through  ichich  those  views  are  conveyed 
from  the  objects  to  the  brain  ?  If  so,  how  does  it  come  to 
pass,  that  every  mind  has  views  of  things  which  never  did 
actually  exist  ?  How  easy  for  the  mind  to  form  to  itself  pic- 
tures of  ideal  existences,  which  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
ever  become  real.  But  these  impressions  arc  not  caused  by 
any  fluid,  as  a  connecting  medium  between  these  objects  and 
the  brain,  for  this  is  impossible.  These  impressions  are  spon- 
taneous, and  caused  by  the  mind's  own  inherent  action,  or  by 
external  agencies  by  which  its  functions  become  excited  to 
action. 

An  operator  sits  down  before  his  patient,  and  wills  him,  as 
it  is  said,  to  go  to  sleep.  The  sleep  follows  this  effort,  and  he 
concludes,  of  course,  that  his  will  has  caused  the  elimination 
of  a  fluid  which  has  penetrated  the  nervous  system  of  the  pa- 
tient, and  produced  the  desired  result.  But  suppose  the  same 
results  follow,  when  he  wills  that  the  subject  should  not  fall 
into  a  state  of  sleep  ?  What  then  ?  What  becomes  of  the 
will  and  the  fluid  in  this  case  ?  And  I  have  had  scores  of 
patients,  who  would  go  to  sleep  just  as  soon  against  my  will, 
as  with  it.  That  is  :  if  you  give  the  subject  an  apprehensioji 
that  sleep  is  the  anticipated  result,  if  he  be  susceptible  it  will 
follow  the  process  adopted  for  its  production,  whether  3'^ou 
will  it  or  not.  And  with  thousands  of  such  facts  as  these  be- 
fore us,  how  can  we  subscribe  to  the  hitherto  prevalent  no- 
tions upon  this  subject  ?  I  have  no  doubt  that  many  ope- 
rators have  been  deceived,  (as  I  know  some  of  them  have 
been  most  cgregiously,)  both  in  respect  to  the  reE^lity  of  the 
results,  as  well  as  the  agency  by  which  they  were  supposed 
to  have  been  induced.    It  is  quite  an  easy  thing  for  some  pei- 


CONCLUSION.  233 

sons  to  feign  this  sleep,  as  well  as  the  mental  excitements  in 
phrenopathy ;  and  I  have  known  instances  where  subjects, 
under  the  management  of  these  considered  experienced  opera- 
tors, who  feigned,  to  admirable  perfection,  all  the  phenomena 
peculiar  to  a  state  of  sornnipathy.  And  seme  such  subjects 
have  even  been  exhibited  before  public  audiences  as  the  finest 
specimens  of  this  singular  state  ! 

Admitting  all  that  has  been  assum^ed  in  those  cases,  in 
which  we  are  told  by  operators  that  they  have  put  their 
subjects  to  sleep  without  their  knowledge,  when  miles  dis- 
tant from  them,  it  by  no  means  proves  the  existence  of  the 
assumed  fluid.  Vie  have  seen  that  two  minds,  at  a  great  dis- 
tance apart,  do  sometiiines  yield  to  the  same  influences  or 
sympathetic  laws,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Wilkin's  dream.  Nor 
is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  this  influence  depends  upon 
a  peculiar  relation  previously  established  between  two  minds. 

If  I  v\'ere  asked  what  the  medium  of  this  sympathy  is,  I 
might  answer,  that  there  is  no  more  necessity  for  a  medium 
for  the  transmission  of  this  sympathy,  than  there  is  for  the 
transmission  of  thought  from  one  place  to  another.  Sympa- 
thy, itself,  is  a  medium,  if  we  may  so  speak,  which  always 
exists  wherever  there  is  a  relation  established  between  the 
right  persons  or  things. 

Nor  is  it  possible  to  show,  how  thoughts  may  be  communi' 
cated  from  one  mind  to  another,  at  a  distance,  without  the 
use  of  the  external  senses,  by  such  a  pervading  medium  as  is 
supposed  to  surround  the  earth,  and  even  to  fill  universal 
space.  Vv^'ith  this  medium,  all  the  imponderable  fluids,  such 
as  light,  heat,  and  electricity,  have  more  or  less  connection. 
Nor  do  we  see  how  thought  could  be  transmitted  through  this 
medium  to  a  great  distance,  and  be  received  into  the  nervous 
system  of  anoiiier,  where  there  were  so  many  all-pervading, 
disturbing  causes.  And  especially,  if  this  be  a  vibratory  me- 
dium, does  nothing  but  thought  cause  the  vibrations?  If  so, 
it  is  impossible  to  see  how  mere  thought  should  be  received 
from  another  at  a  distance,  inasmuch  as  all  thought  must  have 
more  or  less  effect  in  producing  the  vibrations,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  medium  itself  must  be  kept  ia  unending  confusion 


234  PATIIETIS>r. 

by  the  ever  varying  vibrations  which  arc  caused  by  every 
thinking  being  in  every  part  of  universal  space.  Imagine,  if 
possible,  the  condilion  of  this  medium  in  a  room  full  of  peo- 
ple. What  currents  and  counter-currents,  vibrations  and  cross 
vibrations,  must  be  kept  in  perpetual  motion,  in  such  a  place. 
And  how  is  the  straggling  thought  to  be  vibrated  through  so 
many  inconceivably  subtile  and  ever  changing  vibrations  in 
the  surrounding  medium,  already  filled  and  crowded  with 
other  thoughts  and  influences,  which  cause  innumerable  vi- 
brations in  other  and  contrary  directions  ? 

Or,  suppose  we  allow  that  it  may  be  in  the  nature  of  this 
medium  to  admit  and  transmit  mere  thought,  without  any 
limits  to  their  nature  or  numbers.  Then  it  will  follow,  that 
we  should  be  able  to  transmit  our  mere  volitions  whenever 
and  wherever  we  pleased.  It  should  be  just  as  easy  for  me, 
while  in  the  city  of  New- York,  to  put  any  person  to  sleep  in 
London,  as  to  do  it  in  this  city,  where  I  can  reach  the  subject 
by  my  voice  ?  Why  not  ?  We  should  be  able  to  put  any  one 
to  sleep,  not  only  as  distant  as  the  extent  of  this  medium,  but 
any  one  who  is  susceptible,  though  the  patient  had  never 
seen  or  heard  of  the  operator.  This,  however,  cannot  be 
done,  as  every  operator  knows.  You  cannot  put  a  stranger  to 
sleep,  however  susceptible  he  may  be,  whom  you  never  saw, 
and  w^ho  never  has  had  any  apprehension  of  your  influence. 
And  while  this  fact  is  enough  to  annihilate  the  fluid  or  "  vi- 
bratory medium"  theory,  it  presents  no  diflicidty  in  the  way 
of  Pathetism;  for,  according  to  this  theory,  a  patient  may  be 
put  to  sleep  as  well  a  million  cf  miles  distant,  as  one,  provi- 
ded he  be  in  a  suitable  condition  at  the  time,  and  have  the  ne- 
cessary apprehension  of  the  anticipated  or  designed  result. 
Where  the  relation  has  been  sufficiently  established  between 
tv/o  persons,  the  subject  may  be  pat  to  sleep  at  any  distance 
/  from  the  operator,  provided  the  former  have  an  apprehension 
of  the  influence  to  be  exerted  upon  him. 

The  vibratory,  or  fluid  medium  theory,  has  been  argued 
from  the  perceptions  which  some  subjects  have  been  found  to 
have  of  articles  breathed  upon  or  touched  by  the  operator; 
but  I  have,  I  think,  in  the  preceding  pages,  satisfactorily  ac« 


CONCLUSION.  235 

counted  for  this  perception,  by  deraonstratirig  the  existence  of 
a  peculiar  sense,  which  is  developed  in  cases  of  caialepsy  and 
natural  or  induced  somnambulism.  What  is  it  that  enables 
the  dog'  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  his  master,  or  the  course  of 
the  fox,  for  miles  together?  The  feet  of  the  former  may  be 
covered,  so  that  no  imaginable  effiuvia  could  be  left  from  the 
hasty  steps  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground  passed  over;  and 
yet,  to  the  dog  is  given  a  sense  by  which  the  steps  and  the  di- 
rection taken  by  his  rpaster  is  traced  for  miles  and  days  toge- 
ther, with  mierring  accuracy.  Is  this  done  by  a  vibrating 
medium  ?  I  grant,  that  the  contact  of  any  article  with  the 
operator,  or  the  effects  of  his  breath  upon  it,  may  so  change 
its  quality  as  to  render  it  perceptible  by  tbe  above  sense ;  but 
this  does  not  involve  any  necessity  for  a  fliiid,  nor  for  any  vi- 
brating medium,  as  has  been  supposed.  It  rather  relieves  the 
subject  from  any  such  necessity  ;  as  this  change  in  the  quality 
of  substances  is  brought  about  by  that  first  law  of  paihetism 
already  described,  v/hich  requires  that  a  relation  should  be 
established  between  two  different  things,  in  order  to  produce 
any  change  in  the  quality  of  either. 

But  this  "  vibratory  medium"  affords  no  solution  for  the 
peculiar  sympathy  which  is  found  to  exist,  in  most  cases,  be- 
tween the  operator  and  his  patient.  Vv'h;/  should  not  any  pa- 
tient be  as  much  affected  through  this  universal  medium,  by 
the  will  of  one  person  as  of  another,  provided  the  operators 
have  an  equo.i  force  of  will  ? 

In  all  the  reported  experiments  with  magnets,  electricity, 
the  galvanic  battery,  the  eye,  and  the  will,  we  can  deduce  lit- 
tle or  nothing  in  favor  of  this  fluid  theory,  because  we  cannot 
know  how  much  the  mental  apprehensions  of  the  patients  were 
impressed.  These  are  of  no  avail  in  proving  any  lij-pothesis, 
until  you  have  succeeded  by  these  processes  on  a  new  patient, 
one  who  had  no  mental  apprehension  or  anticipation  of  the 
process,  or  its  anticipated  results.  So  of  operating  by  mine- 
rals and  metallic  substances,  or  through  any  other  medium. 
Much  depends  upon  the  apprehensions  of  the  patient,  and 
much,  also,  upon  the  apprehensions  of  the  operator.  Hence, 
some  always  complain  of  fatigue  after  operating,  and  great 


236  PATIIETISM. 

exhaustion:  the  reason  is,  they  conceive  great  mental  effoi't 
necessary  to  induce  any  results.  I  never  feel  exhausted, 
though  I  have  put  fifteen  or  twenty  persons  to  sleep  In  a  day, 
and  could  just  as  well  put  fifty  or  five  hundred  to  sleep  in  the 
same  time,  without  feeling  any  exhaustion  at  alh*  If  the 
operator  fancies  himself  ■weak,  or  that  the  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere is  unfavorable,  and  especially  if  he  gives  his  subject  any 
idea  of  these  supposed  disturbing  cause,^,  of  course  he  will  not 
succeed  so  well.  It  is  not  denied,  but  that  an  opeiator  may 
exhaust  his  own  mental  and  physical  energies,  by  eiforts  of 
this  kind ;  but  there  is  no  more  necessity  for  iJiis,  than  there 
is  of  becoming  exhausted  by  giving  the  attention  to  any  other 
subject  or  effort.  I  have  often  been  conscious  of  relief,  afier 
writing  all  day,  by  operating  in  the  evening  for  an  hour  or  so; 
and  I  can  easily  see  how  this  comes  to  pass.  The  mind  al- 
ways suITers  when  one  or  more  of  the  organs  are  kept  long 
directed  to  one  object ;  and  relief  ensues,  v/hen  the  action  of 
these  organs  is  suspended,  by  the  excitement  of  other  por- 
tions of  the  brain. 

Having  in  the  preceding  pages  spoken  so  freely  on  the  na- 
ture of  this  agency,  and  assigned  v/hct  I  considered  to  be  some 
conclusive  reasons,  to  show  that  it  is  not  a  nervous  jiuid,  or 
current,  transmitted  from  the  operator  into  the  system  of  the 
subject,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  enter  more  at  large  upon 
the  examination  of  this  question.  The  more  I  see  and  hear 
on  the  subject,  the  more  I  am  confirmed  in  the  conclusions  al- 
ready expressed  upon  it.  One  additional  fact,  omitted  in  the 
proper  place,  may  be  stated  here.  It  is  this :  J  find  it  equally 
easy  to  cause  patients  to  excite  their  own  7nental  organs.  I 
have  only  to  cause  the  subject  to  place  his  finger  upon  his  own 
head,  and  just  as  certain  as  he  apprehends  what  the  result 
should  be,  he  will  manifest  the  appropriate  function  I  Is 
there  a  "  neuraiir-a''^  eliminated  in  these  cases  ?"t 

Finally,  as  to  the  intrinsic  importance  of  this  subject.  It 
must  be  understood,  of  course,  to  be  fully  appreciated.     It  is 

^  I  have  put  a  number  into  a  state  cf  somnipatlr/  in  my  office,  while 
sitting  at  my  dosk  composing  tke  pages  of  this  work. 

t  See  Appendix. 


CONCLUSION.  237 

in  this  fie'd  of  inquiry,  that  we  are  to  become  familiar  with 
the  laws  of  mind.  From  this  source  is  to  emanate  that  light, 
which  is  indispensable  to  the  right  understanding  of  the  men- 
tal functions,  and  the  nature  of  those  agencies  which  control 
or  modify  them. 

Hence  its  application  to  the  purposes  of  education  and  the 
management  of  children.  Is  it  not  plain,  that  the  mental  dis- 
positions and  susceptibilities  of  children  should  be  perfectly 
understood,  before  they  can  be  managed  and  controlled  to  the 
best  possible  advantage  ?  And  what  greater  injury  could  be 
inflicted  on  a  child,  than  that  impression  made  upon  his  sus- 
ceptibility by  the  undue  excitement,  perhaps,  of  an  organ, 
when  at  the  same  time  its  opposite  function  should  be  aroused 
and  brought  into  action  ?  The  whole  difficulty  lies  here  :  if 
the  parent  or  teacher  be  ignorant  of  the  avenues  to  those  men- 
tal functions  on  which  Good  Nature,  Kindness,  Zeal,  Benevo- 
lence, and  Ambition  depend,  he  will  be  as  likely  to  excite  An- 
ger, Aversion,  Deception,  and  those  other  passions  which  ren- 
der children  so  exceedingly  difficult  to  manage,  as  the  former. 
And  is  it  no  injury  to  the  child,  v.'hen  you  excite  his  anger  in- 
stead of  his  love,  and  his  revenge  instead  of  kindness?  In 
this  way  the  disposition  may  become  radically  changed  in  a 
very  short  time,  and  impressions  made  upon  the  mind  that 
will  last  as  long  as  the  power  of  thought  endures. 

This  subject  gives  a  most  clear  and  satisfactory  account  of 
the  different  relations  of  life,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
should  be  fuldlled.  Suppose  we  take  a  perfectly  balanced 
head,  for  an  example.  Here  is  a  congeries  of  various  mental 
functions,  for  every  relation  which  it  is  possible  for  man  to 
sustain, — one  giving  a  sense  of  obligation  to  the  Deity,  and 
others  for  the  various  duties  of  life,  disposing  him  to  the  avoid- 
ance of  all  evil,  and  the  pursuit  of  the  best  ends,  by  the  most 
appropriate  meane. 

These  organs  are  balanced  by  opposing  functions,  so  that 
the  best  minds  are  susceptible  to  temptations  to  swerve  from 
dut3^  If  this  were  not  the  case,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  one 
could  be  tempted  at  all,  or  what  would  constitute  the  virtue 
of  obedience. 


238  PATHETISM. 

For  instance,  if  a  man  commits  an  act  of  injustice,  it  surely 
is  not  the  organ  of  Conscientiousness  which  perpetrates  that 
wrong,  but  its  opposite,  which  can  be  excited  to  action  only 
when  the  former  is  suppressed.  And  hence  we  see  what  con- 
stitutes the  perfection  of  any  one  character.  It  is  the  indul- 
gence or  exercise  of  all  the  organs,  in  harmony  with  each 
other.  Acquisitiveness  is  not  so  excited  as  to  control  Consci- 
entiousness; Revenge  is  not  suffered  to  control  the  Will,  nor 
to  become  excited  above  the  activity  of  Compassion.  The 
man  has  Benevolence,  but  this  organ  is  not  to  be  excited  to  the 
injury  of  others,  and  hence,  with  all  the  other  organs  it  is  ba- 
lanced with  an  opposing  function,  which  regulates  its  activity, 
when  necessary,  in  'perfeot  harmony  Mith  the  rest.  All  the 
laws  of  God  agree;  hence,  when  the  mind  is  properly  balan- 
ced, and  all  the  mental  and  physical  functions  harmoniously 
exercised,  His  laws  are  obeyed  in  the  use  of  the  one,  two, 
three,  or  five  "  talents,"  according  to  the  cerebral  endowments 
of  the  individual.  Whatever  is  done,  will  be  in  accordance 
with  the  Divine  Law,  and  the  best  interests  of  ail. 

We  see,  also,  what  should  be  done  when  the  cerebral  func- 
tions are  deficient  in  any  respect.  The  person  should  be  made 
acquainted  with  these  laws;  and,  knowing  his  own  mental 
constitution,  he  may  guard  against  those  agencies  which  are 
calculated  to  excite  his  susceptibilities  to  wrong  doing.  If  he 
knows  he  has  large  Anger,  large  Resistance,  large  Destruc- 
tiveness,  and  little  Suavity,  and  small  Benevolence,  he  may 
and  should  govern  himself  in  view  of  these  facts.  Ke  is  just 
as  really  responsible  (though  not  to  the  same  degree,)  as  if 
his  functions  were  perfectly  balanced,  and  in  the  Scripture 
language  he  were  possessed  of  the  "  five  talents." 

The  principles  here  advocated  make  parents  responsible  for 
the  mental  characters  of  their  children.  We  have  seen  how 
wonderfully  the  susceptibility  is  developed  in  females  during 
the  time  of  gestation,  and  to  what  an  extent  the  foetus  shares 
in  this  quality  of  the  living  body, — so  much  so,  that  it  is  in 
the  povv^er  of  the  mother,  by  a  knovvledge  of  these  laws,  and 
the  government  of  herself  according  to  them,  to  transmit  to 
her  offspring  mental  quahties  far  superior  to  her  own.    If, 


CONCLUSION.  239 

during  that  interesting  and  important  period,  her  mind  be  oc- 
cupied by  the  contemplation  of  the  good,  the  kind,  and  bene- 
volent,— if  all  the  baser  functions  and  passions  be  suppressed, 
and  no  unhallo7/ed  emotions  be  permitted  to  find  a  lodgment 
in  her  disposition,  the  laws  of  God  must  be  reversed,  or  the 
good  elfects  T^ill  appear  in  the  cerebral  developments  of  the 
children  born  of  such  mothers.  No  intelligent  physiologist 
can  conscientiously  doubt  this  doctrine.  It  is  recognised  in 
the  Inspired  Scriptures,  as  I  have  before  shown ;  and  it  might 
be  seen  demonstrated  in  the  case  of  every  child,  if  we  could 
know  the  history  of  its  mother's  mental  exercises  during  the 
time  above  named. 

I  cannot  doubt  but  that  the  characters  of  many  children  are 
affected  very  much,  by  the  want  of  what  I  may  denominate  a 
real  conjugal  unicn  betw^een  the  parents;  and  were  the  sub- 
jects treated  of  in  this  work  sufficiently  understood,  I  firmly 
believe,  far  less  of  those  marriages  would  take  place,  where 
conjugal  union  between  the  parties  was  wanting.  It  is  now 
generally  admitted,  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  marriages 
which  take  place,  prove  unhappy.  The  parties  are  united  for 
life,  before  they  find  out  that  they  are  not  the  persons  they 
thought  they  were:  in  other  words,  that  they  have  little  or 
no  conjugal  love  for  each  other.  Hence,  each  is  displeased, 
more  or  less,  with  the  habits,  the  mental  endowments,  the 
tastes  and  views  of  the  other,  which  constitutes  a  source  of 
unending  difiTerence,  and  perhaps  strife  and  discontent.  Now 
all  this  knowledge  the  parties  should  have  of  each  other  be- 
fore the  union  is  formed ;  and  it  might  and  would  be  obtained, 
were  the  necessary  means  used  for  this  purpose.  There  are 
some  persons  so  constituted,  that  their  minds  can  never  be 
made  perfectly  to  harmonise.  They  may  be  too  much  alike 
in  some  respects,  that  is,  if  each  have  large  Aversion,  Self- 
Esteem,  Will,  Self-Ccnfidence,  and  Firmness,  the  conjugal 
love  must  be  very  strong  indeed,  to  secure  them  against  fre- 
quent collisions.  But  when  persons  find  themselves  married 
with  this  unhappy  balance  of  views  and  tastes,  they  need  not 
be  miserable,  necessarily,  on.  this  account.  By  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  nature  and  laws  of  mind,  and  a  fixed  resolution 


240  PATHETISM. 

to  fulfil  all  the  duties  of  every  relation,  the  action  of  these 
predominant  organs  may  be  more  or  less  modified,  and  the 
mind  rendered  comparatively  happy,  in  its  efforts  to  make  the 
best  of  its  susceptibilities.  It  is  a  matter  of  reason,  for  every 
unpervcrted  mind  to  desire  the  greatest  amount  of  good ;  and 
when  once  convinced  that  the  greatest  good  of  the  whole  is 
the  greatest  possible  good  to  each  individual,  the  mind  should 
not  hesitate  in  coming  to  the  decision,  to  make  use  of  all  the 
available  helps  to  secure  this  end. 

Such  are  some  of  the  practical  purposes  to  which  these 
principles  arc  to  be  applied.  They  are  concerned  in  all  the 
passions,  emotions,  feelings,  perceptions,  and  volitions  of  hu- 
man existence.  They  show  how  one  mind  affects  another, 
for  good  or  for  evil;  and  not,  merely,  how  the  body  may  be 
relieved  from  pain,  but  how  the  mind  may  be  governed  and 
developed,  so  as  to  secure  the  greatest  amount  of  holiness 
and  happiness  which  it  is  possible  for  each  one  to  enjoy. 


THE  END. 


APPENDIX. 


Since  the  sheets  of  this  work  were  in  press,  I  have  seen 
v/hat  purports  to  be  a  "  Diagram  of  the  Phrenological  portion 
of  Neurology,  by  Dr.  James  R.  Buchanan."  It  is  a  little  larger 
than  life,  and  is  sold  for  one  dollar  each.  It  has  his  assumed 
new  organs  marked  upon  the  head,  face,  and  neck,  besides  a 
number  of  letters  and  hieroglyphics,  which  are  not  explained, 
but  which,  to  the  uninitiated,  will  of  course  give  quite  an  im- 
pressive sense  of  the  mysteriousness  of  the  science. 

All  the  locations  of  the  organs  on  this  chart,  differ  in  almost 
every  respect  from  the  busts  marked  by  Dr.  Gall  and  his  suc- 
cessors; and  as  Dr.  B.  has  drawn  up  this  chart  from  the  re- 
sults of  experiments  made  by  the  agency  treated  of  in  the 
preceding  pages,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  for  me  to  offer  a 
few  remarks  here  concerning  his  assumptions,  though  I  am 
by  no  means  disposed  to  spend  much  time  upon  it,  or  to  notice 
any  considerable  proportion  of  the  many  and  insurmount- 
AELE  difficulties  which  lie  in  the  way  of  Dr.  B.'s  theory. 

The  Doctor,  himself,  made  a  remark  about  his  system,  in 
one  of  his  public  lectures  in  this  city,  last  winter,  which  at 
the  time  surprised  many  who  heard  it;  but  it  will  afford  no 
little  assistance  in  accounting  for  the  arrangement  of  the  dif- 
ferent organs  in  this  diagram.  The  remark  was  this  :  that  he 
invented  his  theory ^irs^  and  then  commenced  his  experiments 
in  its  confirmation  !  That  is,  he  first  decided  how  the  phre- 
nological or 'ydius  should  be  located,  and  afterwards  commenced 
his  experiments  to  prove  his  theory  correct !  To  those  who 
know  any  thing  of  the  sympathies  of  the  human  system,  or 
its  svsceptiUlities,  I  certainly  need  not  undertake,  here,  to 
say,  how  much  dependence  they  should  place  on  the  assump- 

T 


242  ^.PPENDIX. 

tions  of  one  who  goes  to  work  in  this  manner  to  find  out  the 
functions  and  localities  of  the  cerebral  organs. 

Indeed,  I  cannot  withhold  an  expression  of  ray  astonishment, 
that  a  man  of  Dr.  Buchanan's  apparent  intcUigence  should 
have  been  so  completely  bewildered  in  the  labarynths  of  his 
own  fancy,  as  he  has  evidently  been,  in  building  up  his  theory 
of  "  Iveurology."  This  was  to  have  been  expected,  to  be  sure, 
from  the  manner  in  which  he  boasts  of  having  begun  his  in- 
vestigations; but  the  marvel  is,  as  to  how  he  could  be  as  fa- 
miliar as  he  assumes  to  have  been,  with  the  functions  of  the 
nervous  system,  for  some  tv/o  years  cr  more,  and  yet  never 
have  been  able  to  discover,  during  all  this  time,  the  real  na- 
ture of  that  agency  by  v/hich  his  experiments  upon  the  cere- 
bral system  were  performed.  He  tells  us,  that  he  has  experi- 
mented upon  some  sixty  different  subjects,  who  were  highly 
susceptible  to  what  he  calls  his  neuraura,  and  from  these  ex- 
periments he  has  drawn  up  this  chart.  And  as  I  do  not  at  all 
ao-ree  with  the  Doctor  in  his  conclusions,  eicher  as  to  his  lo- 
cations  of  the  different  organs,  or  the  nature  of  that  agency  by 
which  he  operates,  it  is  due  to  truth  that  I  should  state,  can- 
didly, the  reasons  for  dissent.  Of  course,  I  cannot  go  fully 
into  this  subject  here,  nor  is  it  necessary,  as  I  have  already 
done  this  in  the  preceding  pages  of  this  work. 

The  following  is  one  of  Dr.  Buchanan's  fundamental  princi- 
pleg — it  is  the  foundation  of  what  he  calls  "Neurology": — 

That  a  nervous  jiuid  is  eliminated  from  the  operator  into 
the  subject,  and  this  jluid,  when  the  finger  of  the  former  is 
applied  to  the  cranium  of  the  latter,  excites  the  mental  organ 
located  in  the  place  touched  hy  the  operator* 

Thus,  if  the  operator  place  his  finger  on  what  Dr.  B.  calls 
the  organ  of  ^^ Ignorance,''^  the  subject  becomes  ignorant;  if 
on  the  organ  of  *' Stupiditij,^^  he  becomes  stupid;  if  on  the 
organ  of ''  Aivhcardyi  ess, ^^  he  becomes  awkward;  if  upon  the 
organ  of  ^^ Disease,"  he  becomes  sick;  if  upon  the  organ  of 
'■'■  Idiotcy,"  he  becomes  idiotic;  if  upon  the  organ  of  ^'  Intox- 
ication," he  becomes  drunk,  not  with  alcohol,  to  be  sure,  but 
with  the  neuraura  eliminated  into  him  from  the  hands  of  the 
operator. 


APPENDIX.  24-3 

Now  it  will  be  admitted,  on  all  hands,  as  I  have  already  stat- 
ed, that  the  immediate  agency  ■which  excites  the  organs  in 
any  case,  must  be  the  same,  by  whatever  cause  that  agency 
is  brought  to  bear  upon  the  mental  functions.  For  instance, 
you  titillate  the  sole  of  the  foot,  or  under  the  arms,  and  you 
excite  the  organs  of  mirth.  Bat,  is  there  a  fluid  eliminated, 
in  this  case,  from  the  hand  of  the  operator  ?  Is  there  a  fluid 
in  this  case  eliminated  from  the  finger  of  the  operator,  into 
the  foot  of  the  subject,  and  from  thence  up  into  the  organs  of 
mirth  ?  V/'hat  conveys  that  fluid  to  those  organs  instead  of 
any  other  part  of  the  system  ? 

You  tread  upon  the  patient's  toe,  and  it  excites  his  organ 
of  Ccmbativeness.  But  is  there  a  fluid  communicated  from 
the  foot  of  the  operator,  into  the  toe  of  the  subject,  and  thence 
up  the  limb  into  his  organ  of  Combativeness  ? 

Again,  in  the  base  of  the  brain  Dr.  B.  locates  an  organ  of 
Calorification,  and  the  fluid  reaches  the  organ,  he  tells  us, 
when  the  hand  of  the  operator  is  applied  to  the  chin  of  the 
patient.  But  what  hinders  the  fluid,  in  this  case,  from  being 
conveyed  to  other  portions  of  the  brain?  The  truth  is,  how- 
ever, that  every  susceptible  person,  the  world  ever,  if  he  is 
left  in  total  ignorance  on  the  subject,  will  be  just  as  likely  to 
have  any  other  sensation,  on  taking  hold  of  the  chin,  as  that 
of  heat ;  and  if  you  tell  the  patient  before  hand,  that  the  de- 
sign is  to  give  a  sensation  of  cold,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  that 
sensation  will  be  produced.  If  the  subject  have  no  idea  of 
the  design,  or  anticipated  results,  he  will  be  as  likely  to  have 
one  sensation  as  another.  This  I  know  and  have  demonstra- 
ted, not  by  experiments  upon  "  sixty  or  seventy  impressible 
subjects,  but  upon  hundreds.  Indeed,  I  have  demonstrated 
this  fact,  by  experiments  upon  some  of  the  very  subjects  to 
whom  Dr.  B.  refers;  and  I  am  well  persuaded,  that  he  could 
not  find  a  subject,  but  from  whom  I  could  bring  out  results, 
directly  opposed  to  his  own  assumptions.  And  to  show  how 
egregiously  the  Dr.  may  have  been  deceived  in  his  conclusions, 
it  may  be  proper  here  to  state  a  few  facts. 

1.  It  is  well  known,  that  while  in  this  city  and  in  Boston, 
Dr.  B.  experimented  mostly,  not  upon  new  subjects,  but  upon 


244  APPENDIX. 

those  who  had  been  frequently  palhclised,  and  experimented 
upon  before,  with  very  different  results.  Two  lengthy  re- 
ports were  drawn  up,  and  published  in  the  Evening  Post  of 
this  city,  of  his  experiments  here — the  most  of  which  were 
performed  on  two  well-known  subjects — from  both  of  whom 
altogether  different  results  were  brought  out,  by  different  op- 
erators, long  before  Dr.  B.  arrived  in  this  city.  And  that  he 
Avas  deceived  in  one  of  them,  is  a  matter  well  known  here. 
Of  this  fact  the  gentleman  was  informed,  after  he  drew  up 
the  account  for  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  and 
which  was  published,  also,  in  the  Evening  Post,  in  January 
last. 

2.  Dr.  B.  was  understood  to  affirm,  that  Mr.  I.  whom  he 
brought  here  from  Cincinnati,  was  one  of  the  best,  and 
the  very  best  subject  he  ever  had.  And  if  I  am  correctly  in- 
formed, Mr.  I  was  Dr.  B.'s  oracle.  He  was  often  heard  to 
say,  that  Mr.  I.'s  "  impressibility"  was  so  great,  that  he  could 
give  a  perfect  diagnosis,  by  merely  touching  the  subject  to 
be  examined;  and  he  carried  this  to  a  delineation  of  the  men- 
tal powers,  the  passions,  emotions,  and  thoughts  of  the  mind, 
even  to  telling  husbands  whether  their  affections  for  their 
wives  had  ciianged  within  one  or  two  years. 

The  following  is  a  specimen.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  B. 
himself,  and  may  be  found  in  the  first  number  of  the  Journal 
of  the  Cincinnati  Phreno-Magnetic  Society.  He  is  giving  an 
account  of  t-he  manner  in  which  Mr.  I.  and  Mr.  C.  (his  "  stu- 
dents,") examine  heads,  and  adds, — 

*'  We  hear  them  say — You  are  not  so  much  attached  to 
your  wife  as  you  were  once ;  your  conjugal  feelings  have 
been  much  excited  ;  you  have  been  to  see  your  wife  lately, 
and  are  very  much  attached  to  her,"  &c. 

Now,  we  put  it  to  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  inference, 
when  we  inform  him,  that  the  character  of  one  of  the  sub- 
jects on  whom  Dr.  B.  operated  for  some  weeks,  in  this  city, 
(and  once  before  a  committee  appointed  by  a  public  meeting) 
and  who  was  frequently  examined  by  Mr.  I.,  and  whose  con- 
dition was  quite  ;?ecM/e«r  all  the  w^hile,  was  never  found  out 


APPENDIX.  245 

by  him,  nor  do  we  suppose  it  was  even  suspected — for  certain 
we  are,  if  it  had  been,  no  report  of  any  experiments  perform- 
ed on  such  a  subject  would  ever  have  been  made  public. 
And,  what  is  worthy  of  notice,  Mr.  I.  and  this  subject  were 
often  understood  to  affirm  that  the  sympathy  between  them 
was  so  great,  that  if  one  were  sick  at  a  distance,  it  rendered 
the  other  sick  also !  And  yet,  the  neuraura  did  not  enable 
Dr.  B.  or  his  oracle  to  discover,  that  they  were  both  humbug- 
ged and  deceived  by  that  subject,  as  it  is  well  knov/n  they 
most  assuredly  were.  To  show  still  further,  that  Dr.  B.  was 
really  deceived  in  his  assumptions  about  Mr.  I.'s  power,  I 
will  state  one  other  fact. 

Dr.  B.  long  before  he  reached  this  city,  from  some  causes, 
which  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  explain  here,  conceived  a 
very  strong  prejudice  against  a  gentleman,  whom  v/e  will 
here  call  Mr.  S.*  As  might  be  expected  he  imbued  Mr.  I. 
his  highly  impressible  subject,  with  the  same  feeling,  and  Mr. 
I.  from  the  circumstances  of  his  situation,  of  course,  would  be 
very  apt  to  manifest  his  sympathy  with  his  teacher. 

Hence  when  in  Albany,  Mr.  I.  happened  to  see  a  bust, 
which  he  was  told  came  from  Mr.  S.,  and  (will  the  reader 
believe  it,)  it  actually  threw  him  into  convulsions  ;  [Dr.  E. 
was  heard  to  say  repeatedly,  that  Mr.  S.'s  ''neuraura''  was 
decidedly  pernicious,  [!]  and  how  could  poor  Mr.  I.  who  was 
so  "highly  impressible,"  help  falling  into  fits  whenever  he 
came  near  any  thing,  ox  person  touched  by  Mr.  S.  ?] 

The  reader  has  seen  another  case,  stated  in  the  note  on 
page  111,  where  Dr.  B.  and  his  oracle  were  most  egregiously 
deceived  in  the  same  way,  while  in  this  city.  The  facts  there 
stated,  I  had  from  persons  present  when  they  occurred;  and 
they  put  the  matter  beyond  all  doubt  as  to  whether  Dr.  B. 
was  not  deceived  in  his  assumptions,  both  as  to  the  "  impres- 
sibility" of  his  subjects,  and  also  as  to  the  real  nature  of  that 
agency  by  which  they  were  affected.  And  yet,  it  is  from  the 
results  brought  out  from  such  a  subject,  that  Dr.  B.  has  founded 
his  science  of  "Neurology,"  and  scattered  to  the  four  winds 

*  For  proof,  see  Journal  of  the  Phreno-Majnetic  Society,  No.  1, 
page  13. 


246  APPENDIX. 

the  protracted  labors  of  Gall  and  Spurzheim.*  There  are  not 
more  than  five  or  six  of  GalPs  locations,  which  are  allowed  as 
correct  in  this  chart.  Where  Gall  places  Destrucliveness, 
Buchanan  puts  Conservativeness  ;  where  Gall  locates  Love 
of  Children,  Buchanan  places  Tyranny  ;  and  where  Union 
for  Life  should  be,  Buchanan  places  Cruelty. 

I  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  possible,  that  Dr.  B.  has  experi- 
mented on  seventy  good  subjects,  as  he  says,  and  yet  has  re- 
mained, till  now,  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  no  two  of  them 
could  be  affected  precisely  alike  in  all  respects.  I  venture  to 
say,  there  is  not  an  operator  to  be  found,  of  any  experience, 
who  will  not  ag-ree  in  this  statement.  True,  the  results  may 
agree  in  part ;  as  for  instance,  you  can  excite  the  same  func- 
tions in  two  or  more  subjects,  but  you  cannot  always  do  it 
from  precisely  the  same  locations.  But,  if  these  excitements 
are  produced  by  a  fluid  they  should  agree,  and  not  only  so, 
but  we  should  be  able  to  excite  all  the  different  organs  in  ev- 
ery subject  in  Avhich  we  can  excite  one  by  this  agency.  But 
this  is  not  the  case,  as  I  know.  These  excitements  depend, 
in  a  great  degree,  on  the  mental  apprehensions  of  the  subject; 
and  hence  the  answers,  in  most  of  the  cases  experimented  on 
in  this  city  by  Dr.  B.  were  suggested  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  questions  were  put,  so  that  the  subject  apprehended  the 
anticipated  results.  Indeed  w^hat  could  be  more  evident,  than 
this  fact,  knowing  as  I  do,  that  patients  may  be  taught  to  ex- 
cite their  own  organs,  by  touching  them,  just  as  well  as  an* 
other  could  do  it  for  the?n  ;  and  this  fact,  alone,  is  enough 
to  annihilate,  forever,  the  laboured  theory  of  "Neurology." 

For  these  and  other  reasons  I  have  but  very  little  confidence 
in  Dr.  Buchanan's  chart.  I  am  satisfied  beyond  all  doubt, 
that  his  notions  about  the  elimination  of  a  fluid  from  the  oper- 
ator into  the  subject  are  totally  unfounded.      The  phenome- 

*  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  estimate  v»'hich  one  of  the  me- 
dical profession  of  this  city,  (but  we  believe  he  was  the  only  one  who 
received  Dr.  B.'s  theory,)  put  upon  these  monstrous  assumptions.  Dr. 
S.  Forry,  speaking  of  Dr.  Buchanan's  discoveries,  says  :  ''  Before  this 
discovery,  on  the  assumptions  of  its  truth,  those  of  Gall,  Spurzheim, 
Majendie,  and  Sir  Charles  Bell,  dv.'indle  into  comparative  insignifi- 
cauce.''    isurely  the  age  of  Tractors  is  not  past! 


APPENDIX.  247 

na  induced  by  his  experiments,  and  those  also  under  the  name 
of  Mesmerism,  are  produced  by  the  laws  of  sympathy  or  ner- 
vous induction.  I  have  a  thousand  times  produced  these  phe- 
nomena, without  contact  with  the  subject,  and  without  uil- 
ling  them  as  it  has  been  called,  and  consequently  without  any 
fiuid,  magnetic  or  nervous, 


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